Caught in a Spiderweb
by Autumn-is-beautiful
Summary: Shino's mission: to restrain a giant spider terrorizing a town, but the spider is really a kunoichi with a tragic past that he must unravel. Romance in late chapters. You will get to find out what Shino is hiding behind the black glasses.
1. the spider

Disclaimer: only Kumo is mine.

* * *

Kumo's POV:

I felt empty. Just completely empty. I got the feeling that I should be crying. But tears seemed too mundane. Crying now would be like calling tortured "uncomfortable." The only person who had ever cared for me, the only person who didn't regard me as a failed experiment was gone, forever. I have no family, no friends, no village. I had no reason for living. I briefly considered leaving all the hate and pain of this world behind me, but I didn't deserve that easy an escape. I deserved to be feared and hated. That's when it came to me. I would turn myself into a giant spider. People hated and feared spiders. They would hate and fear me. That is what I deserve. I was weak. I couldn't save the only one who mattered. I gathered my chakra. "Permanent Transformation Jutsu!"

I wobbled a bit before I learned how to walk with eight legs instead of two. I left, and never looked back. I headed for town. I would show myself in the girl's bathroom. I was sure to be hated. It gave me a sort of sick pleasure to look forward to what I deserved.

* * *

3rd person POV:

Shino Aburame reported to the Hokage's office as requested. "You had a mission for me, Hokage-sama." He stated.

"Yes. A giant spider has been terrorizing a town in Iwagakure. They requested an Aburame, knowing of your clan's affinity for insects."

"Spiders are arachnids, not insects."

"I know that, but you will go anyways. Here is the report. You leave tomorrow."

"Hai."

Shino left the office and proceeded to read the report. A few sentences stood out. "Spider starts off half a meter tall, but if it's targets do not scream or attack it, it grows in size and becomes aggressive…Only makes an attempt to avoid attacks that could be fatal…Seems interested in intimidation only. No injuries have been sustained due to its appearance." _Hmm. I see why they would request a ninja. This is not a true spider._

In the morning, Shino left for Iwagakure as ordered and traveled, puzzling over the mystery of the purpose of intimidating a town, but not trying to hurt anyone or evade non-fatal attacks. _I will be able to see this "spider" soon enough and get a firsthand experience with it. _

Shino waited. His kikaichu were scattered throughout the town and would warn him when the spider appeared. After several hours, a lone bug came buzzing up to him. "The southwest quadrant?"

Shino observed as the "spider" approached a group of guards at the gate of the town. It rose up on its hind legs, and opened wide its mouth, revealing thick fangs. The guards were pointing their weapons at it, but not attacking, and this seemed to make the spider angrier. It swelled in size and rushed the soldiers. One of them launched a spear at it, and it did not swerve, simply let the weapon burry itself side, though it missed any internal organs. It gave a cry of pain, but continued rushing the soldiers. One tried to bury his sword in the spider's chest, but the creature swerved, and though it's movements were fast enough to completely evade the attack, it let the sword pierce its body just above its foremost leg on the right side. Shino decided it was time to step in. He released his parasitic insects to encase the spider, ordering the soldiers back. He had been introduced to the guards when he had arrived, so they reluctantly complied. The kikaichu frantically sucked up chakra as the spider changed sizes and tried desperately to escape. After a minute though, the spider collapsed, returning to its original size.

Shino walked over to examine it. It was no particular species of spider, but seemed to be an amalgamation of several species. Its fur was a dark brown with black speckling, and his kikaichu had reported that the spider had the chakra network of a shinobi. But if the transformation of ninja to spider had just been a regular transformation jutsu, the ninja should have returned to human form when his/her chakra was drained. This transformation must be more than just temporary, and probably requires chakra input to revert to human form. _My mission was simply to stop the attacks on the town. If I bring the spider back to Konoha, my mission would be complete, and we might be able to learn more about this jutsu, and the purpose. But to keep it alive, I will have to bandage it up. _

He left the spider bandaged, tied up and guarded by some of his insects, then approached the leader of the town. "I have captured the spider. I will be taking it back with me to study it further."

The man was incredibly grateful, but Shino just shrugged it off. It was just a mission. The sooner he left, the sooner he would return, and the sooner he would learn more about the shinobi spider.

Returning to the gate and the spider, Shino made a sling and placed the spider in it on his back. The kikaichu would warn him when it regained enough chakra to regain consciousness, and he felt the need to keep his hands free in case of emergencies.

Several hours later, the Kikaichu warned Shino that his prisoner was awaking. _Perhaps I can gather a little more information._ He placed the spider on the ground and waited. The groggy spider soon regained consciousness, and struggled against its bonds. Realizing it couldn't escape at its present size and shape, it briefly shifted to snake form before wriggling free of the ropes and returning to spider form. But using chakra so soon after having it depleted left the spider with no real strength and it could barely move.

"Who are you?" Shino asked.

The spider looked at him through all eight eyes and wrote in the dust "Hate me."

"Why do you want to be hated?"

The spider simply tapped the words in the dust and slipped back to unconsciousness.

Shino replaced the bandages that had come off during the spider's attempts to escape and placed the spider back in the sling on his back. _We might be able to get more answers out of it if we could force it to return to human form._

* * *

_A/n: Kumo means spider in Japanese. _


	2. hospital

Disclaimer: Don't sue me because Naruto is not mine.

* * *

Shino knocked on the door of the Hokage's office, the spider still in the sling.

"Enter."

"Hokage-sama, I have returned with the spider. My kikaichu recognize it's pathway as that of a shinobi, but even when all its chakra is depleted, it does not regain human form. I have never heard of a transformation jutsu that could do this."

"Hmm. Maybe Kakashi knows of it. Shizune!"

"Hai!"

"Summon Kakashi. I want to see him. Now!"

"Hai!" The kunoichi disappeared.

"Now tell me about its behavior."

"It seemed to want to be hated and injured. It only dodged the attacks that would kill it, and it didn't completely evade those, though it was fast enough. It never hurt anyone. It can communicate by writing, but all it will write is 'hate me.' The best comparison I have for its behavior is that of a cutter, wanting to hurt itself."

"Hmm."

A knock came at the door, and Kakashi entered. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Have you ever encountered a transformation jutsu that was more permanent than the normal?"

"You think the spider is a transformed ninja?"

"The spider can communicate by writing, but doesn't regain human form even when completely depleted of chakra."

"I've never heard of one like this, but if someone casts a transformation jutsu on he/she/it, that might be able to force it to regain human form."

"Kakashi, I want you to do that, with your Sharingan uncovered so that if it works, but the ninja tries to revert back to spider, you can learn it."

"Hai."

* * *

Kumo's POV:

I was hovering on the edge of consciousness when I felt strange chakra and forced myself awake. The unfamiliar chakra was trying to force me back to human form. _NO!_ I felt 6 of my arms disappear before I had a good enough control of my chakra to fight the transformation. I couldn't stop the scream of pain as my battered body protested the fight over my form. "No! I can't be human. I have to be a spider! They have to hate me! I deserve to be hated! I don't deserve to be human!" I didn't realize that I had screamed that aloud until I caught the wide-eyed look of the strange ninjas. I redoubled my efforts to stay a spider, though the pain caused me to double over and scream.

* * *

Normal POV:

Sweat poured off of Kakashi's forehead as he fought to revert the ninja to human form. "Shino. I thought you said you had drained its chakra."

"I did. It had an abnormally large chakra well, and regains it at a remarkable rate."

With one last cry, the foreign ninja's eyes rolled up and crumpled to the floor, finally finishing the transformation to human, leaving a naked young woman covered with scars on the floor. Her bandages had come off again, and Tsunade reached for the girl with a green glowing hand. The girl had deep puncture marks in her side and her right shoulder, presumably from the townspeople. "I can heal her physical wounds, but it sounds like her emotional pain is greater. I'd still like to get her down to the infirmary, though." She covered the girl with her jacket and Shino obediently scooped her up, then Tsunade looked at Kakashi and saw him leaning heavily against the wall. "Perhaps you should come to the infirmary as well. She put up quite a fight."

"I'll be fine."

She looked at him suspiciously, but shrugged and headed for the infirmary, followed by Shino with the girl.

* * *

Kumo's POV:

I woke up to the smell of antiseptic and panicked. I opened my eyes, saw a white ceiling, and immediately reached for my chakra.

"I'll have my kikaichu drain your chakra again if you try to transform again." I stiffened. That voice belonged to the man who had kidnapped me.

The antiseptic smell and the I.V. in my hand were getting to me. I could feel my breath coming quicker and shallower, my heart racing, adrenaline flowing like fire through my veins. I gathered my strength and forced all my chakra into my legs as I propelled myself forward and crashed through the window. The glass tore my skin as I passed through, and shards imbedded themselves deeply when I landed, but I would rather be dead than to be a test subject again. The bug man came through the window after me and caught me before I had gone two feet. I bled on him as I gasped for breath and begged "Don't make me go back there! I can't be an experiment again!"

"We won't experiment on you." His voice was deadly serious.

I shook with silent sobs, hating myself for my weakness. I didn't even notice that some of his bugs split off to report to the Hokage, as he gently guided me away from the hospital.I stopped when he stopped, and realized I was in a house.

"Sit." I obeyed. There was a knock at the door and the bug-man opened it, revealing a girl with pink hair.

"Tsunade-sama got your message. Where is she?"

Bug-man gestured to me, and the pink girl knelt by and gently took one of my feet in her hands. I winced as she pulled glass out of my flesh, but my escape had worn me out, and it was all I could do to remain upright. A cool feeling spread through my cuts, easing the pain, and the darkness overcame me.

* * *

Shino placed the girl on a bed, then gently closed the door to find Sakura, her hands on her hips. "I will look after her while you report to Tsunade. She's not happy. And when you get back, I want explanations as well.

Shino nodded silently and left.


	3. questions

Disclaimer: How many of the writers on fanfiction own Naruto? None? Well that includes me.

A/n: This story takes place during Shippuden, and starts a little after the three-tails arc, but before the invasion arc.

* * *

"Shino. Care to explain your rather cryptic message?" Tsunade asked, her voice dangerously calm.

"The girl awoke, had a panic attack at being in the hospital, launched herself out the window and begged me not to make her go back and be an experiment when I caught her. So I took her to my house which would hopefully be a more comfortable setting for her. I asked you to send Sakura so she could take the glass shards out of her and heal her." He explained calmly.

"Very well. She will stay with you for the time being, and report in anything you learn about her. Especially a name would be useful. Then we could ask around about her."

Shino nodded and left.

* * *

When Kumo awoke she was in a bed, but not in hospital. Bug-man was sitting in a chair next to the bed, and she couldn't tell if he was looking at her or not because of those stupid dark glasses.

"Good. You're awake."

"Where am I?"

"My house."

"That's kind of creepy. _Why _am I here?"

He shrugged. "You refused to go back to the hospital."

The silence stretched out. She still couldn't tell if he was looking at her, and it was bugging her.

"Will you tell me your name?" he finally asked.

"You can call me Kumo."

"You wish to be called 'spider?'"

"Yeah. What's your name?"

Shino was tempted to give a sarcastic reply to mirror her not very helpful answer to his question about her name, but his logical side won, as it always did, and he said "Aburame Shino."

"I suppose that sounds better than 'bug-man.'"

"Are you willing to tell me anything else about yourself?"

"I don't want to be human."

"Anything you wish to share that I don't already know?" Shino clarified.

"I don't like sour candies." _Where did that come from?_ Shino wondered.

"Anything else?"

"Sure. Maternal instincts are a myth, and being a spider's not that bad." _Oookkkaaay._

"Are you from Iwa?"

"Not by choice."

"Are you a ninja?"

"No."

"But your chakra signature is that of a shinobi."

"I didn't say I had no training. I just said I wasn't a ninja. You're not very smart are you?"

That stung, but Shino ignored it and continued his questioning. "Who trained you?"

"A ninja." She said helpfully.

"Did this ninja have a name?"

"Several of them."

"Will you tell me any of them?"

"Not unless you tell me about yourself. I don't want to be the only one giving away answers." _Her answers are not very helpful, but perhaps she will be more willing if I comply with her request._ "I am Shino. I live in the ninja village Konohagakure. I am a chunin. I use kikaichu."

"Care to tell me something I don't already know?"

"What do you wish to know?"

"Why do you wear sunglasses, even inside?"

"It is a family tradition."

"Why is it a family tradition?"

"You asked the last question. We will alternate who asks and who answers."

Sigh. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"How old are you?"

"I don't know. I don't remember how long I was a spider. Now answer why your family has a tradition of wearing those creepy glasses."

_She finds them creepy. Perhaps she would be more comfortable and helpful if I removed them._ He removed his glasses, revealing one brown eye and one dark grey eye. "My family wears glasses to hide our eyes because many people find eyes of 2 different colors disconcerting."

"Does everyone in your family have 2 different colored eyes?"

"It is my turn to ask a question. How old were you before you became a spider?"

"15. Now answer my question."

"Yes. All of us have eyes of two different colors. What was the name of the ninja who trained you?"

"No one can have a name unless someone acknowledges that they exist. No one else acknowledged he existed as anything but a weapon while I was alive, so the only name he had was that of mine for him. Father. Now tell me about that ninja who forced me into this shape."

"Kakashi is the name of the jounin who undid your transformation. Now answer my question, why do you want to be hated?"

She stiffened. "I deserve to be hated." Her voice was dead and flat.

Shino didn't want to hurt her, but he gently asked "Why do you deserve to be hated?"

"I was weak. I couldn't stop him."

"Who couldn't you stop?"

Kumo shook and remained silent, so Shino put a hand on her shoulder gently and asked again.

She just shook her head and buried her face in his chest. Shino froze in shock. He had never been this close to a female who wasn't a family member or he had been sparring with. Awkwardly he put his arms around her. _Obviously she's not ready yet to talk about "him," whoever he is. Perhaps I can find out without asking her directly. If I watch her reaction when I talk about a friend or brother or father, her expression may give away whether her trauma had anything to do with a friend or relative. _When she stopped shaking, Shino quickly released her.

"I want to sleep, now get out."

Shino nodded silently and left the upset girl to calm herself down. He had a report to send to the Hokage.


	4. transformations

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, not Autumn-is-beautiful.

* * *

Shino reviewed what he knew about "Kumo" as he prepared food. She was from Iwa. She had reddish-brown hair and hazel eyes. She was probably about 16, the same age as he was. She tried to become a spider permanently when she was 15. She had been trained to use her chakra by her father, who no one acknowledged the existence of. She thought she deserved to be hated because she couldn't stop someone. _That's not much to go on, but it's a start._

He knocked on the door of the room he had placed her in.

"Go away." Came her command from the other side of the door.

Shino entered anyways, a plate of food in his hand. "You need to eat."

Her belly growled loudly at the smell and she practically snatched the food from his hand and inhaled it.

"How long has it been since you've eaten?"

She shrugged, still inhaling the food.

"Shall we continue our alternating questions?" Shino asked.

Kumo shrugged again. "But first you have to take off the glasses. They're creepy."

Shino removed his glasses and began. "What types of jutsu do you tend to use?"

"Just transformation. How old are you?"

"16. Do you only use transformation jutsu by preference or because you can't use other jutsu?

"I can use other jutsu, but not all the time. Sometimes transformation is all that will come to me. What are friends like?"

Shino blinked in surprise at the question. "Friends… are people who care about you. People who want to protect you, and you want to protect, even though they are not related to you." Kumo's expression was thoughtful. "Can you transform to any shape other than a spider?"

"Do you have a space bigger than this room?"

Puzzled, he led her to the main gathering room, and without even forming a hand sign, Kumo shifted to a snake and slipped out of her clothes. Then she began a rapid series of transformations: bear, ostrich, lion, fish, hawk, deer, dog, and elephant before settling as a mouse next to Shino's sandal.

"I guess that's a yes." He mused. Kumo transformed once more, this time into a large leopard. She touched her nose to his hand before turning her head in a flash, and gently placing her jaws around his wrist. His eyes widened in shock, but she did not bite down. She simply turned, forcing him to turn with her or impale his wrist on her large canines. When he was facing the wall, she released him and disappeared behind him. He turned around to see what she was doing only to realize that she was back in human form and naked, covered only by her scars. "I turned you around so I could get dressed without you looking!" she berated him.

"I did not know what you were doing." Shino responded, facing the wall once again.

"You can turn around now." When the boy was once again facing her, she stated "I more than adequately answered your question. Now answer mine. Why do you ask me all these questions?"

"My original mission was to stop you from terrorizing the town. I decided to take you back to Konoha so you could be examined, since I had never heard of a jutsu that was not broken when the casters chakra was drained. Now I need to find out about you because you are in Konoha, and we do not wish to keep you a prisoner forever, but need to know if you are a friend or an enemy." He looked at her, gaging her reaction with his funny eyes of different colors. "My next question is how did you get all those scars?"

Her teeth clenched and her knuckles turned white. "I was brought into this world as an experiment. I was tested and virtually abandoned. I was tortured when my father failed, or they wanted to show him what would happen if he disobeyed them. Eventually he faked my death." She turned to look him straight in the face defiantly and said "You may send your bugs to keep an eye on me, but don't follow me. I've had enough of you and your questions. I will not be an experiment again." She shifted to spider form and scuttled out.

He sent a few kikaichu after her, but remained in the main gathering room, thinking. _Who had experimented on her? What did they experiment with? Who was her father? Why can she only reliably use transformation? Why does her transformation persist after her chakra is drained? How long was she a spider? Who couldn't she stop?_ Though he had asked questions, he was left with more questions than he had gained answers for.


	5. control

Disclaimer: Kumo is mine, but the rest of the characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Kumo planned her next move. _I still don't know much about Shino. I would rather not be under his control. First I need a distraction for the kikaichu following me. Luck is with me. For whatever reason, my chakra is flowing nicely and I can use whichever jutsu I want. _She quickly created a whirlwind to scoop up the kikaichu, though not hurt them. She made a shadow clone, then transformed the original into a kikaichu and hid her chakra signature. When her whirlwind stopped and the kikaichu returned, the real Kumo inserted herself within them.

When Kumo returned to the Aburame compound, her kikaichu followers buzzed angrily around their host. "Why did you attack my kikaichu?"

Kumo shrugged. "I was pissed. I threw a temper tantrum." Shino's eyes narrowed, and Kumo could tell that he didn't completely believe her, but he didn't challenge her on it.

The fake kikaichu swirling around Shino swore silently. She could feel her ability to cast jutsu other than transformation slipping away. She had wanted to observe Shino without him knowing so she could see how he really was, but she lost the flow of chakra, and the shadow clone disappeared with a poof.

"A shadow clone?" Shino asked. "She must have created it when the kikaichu were in the whirlwind." His kikaichu interrupted his thinking aloud by announcing her presence. With the loss of chakra control, she had lost her ability to suppress her chakra signature. "So you were hiding with my kikaichu? That could have worked very well, but I'm guessing you lost control of your chakra except for your ability to transform. Since I know you are, why don't you come out and explain your little stunt."

One "kikaichu" flew in front of him and transformed into a spider, smaller than the spider she was when she first met him, but bigger than a regular spider. She wrote in the dirt "the downside to this jutsu is I have to leave my clothes behind."

Shino removed his large coat and placed it on the ground next to the spider. "You may cover yourself with that. I will turn around so that you can transform, but my kikaichu will be wary of another trick."

Kumo shifted, and put on the jacket. _Normally I hate being short, but this time I guess it's good. His jacket covers a decent amount._

"You can turn around now." Shino turned around, and Kumo found herself thinking. _He looks so human without the giant coat and sunglasses._

"Would you care to explain your stunt?"

Kumo crossed her arms. "I wanted to observe you when you thought no one could see. Then I could really see what you're like. Unfortunately my chakra slipped away and I lost the shadow clone and suppression of my chakra signature."

"Do you lose control of it often?"

"I don't have control of it often, and when I have control, it can last anywhere from 5 minutes to a week. I was hoping for longer than 15 minutes this time."

Shino frowned. "Do you know why you can't control it often, or why transformation is different?"

"No, I … AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Kumo doubled over in pain and crumpled, but Shino caught her before she hit the ground.

Through her haze of pain, Kumo heard Shino ask what was wrong, and thought she saw a flicker of concern on his face. _I can't be seeing that. He's like a robot. He doesn't feel concern._

Shino _was_ looking at her with concern. His kikaichu were telling him that her chakra network was going haywire. He laid her gently on the ground as her spasms and screams continued. She briefly had scales, then feathers, then human skin and a tail. Horns appeared and disappeared to be replaced with tentacles, then hooves. He sent his kikaichu to summon Hinata, Sakura and Tsunade. Summoning the Hokage was not something to be done lightly, but she was the most experienced medic in Konoha, and she had wanted him to find out about the mysterious girl's transformation jutsu.

Hinata was the first to arrive, and she gasped when she saw the girl convulsing and screaming on the ground, partially transforming at random. "Hinata, please use your Byakugan to see her chakra network. My kikaichu tell me that it is … unstable."

"Hai. Byakugan!" She began to sway unsteadily until Shino propped her up as she became dizzy watching the constant, random movement and fluctuations of the girl's chakra network.

Tsunade and Sakura arrived at the same time, their eyes widening at the sight and sounds of the scene before them.

Before either of them could ask what was going on, Hinata spoke. "Her chakra, it's all over the place. It's not even in human shape anymore."

Tsunade and Sakura reached for the girl with green-glowing hands, but the girl's spasms increased when their chakra touched her. Her hand shot and she gripped Shino's arm so hard that his bones creaked. He grimaced in pain, but did not say anything, instead concentrating on what she was desperately trying to tell him. "drain…..cha…."

Interpreting her words as a request to drain her chakra he covered her in kikaichu who sucked at her strength. When they had finished, Kumo was unconscious on the ground, but her features were no longer contorted in pain and Hinata reported that her chakra network was no longer moving and pulsing. "It seems stable now, even if it looks like a blob of ramen noodles."

"I think you've been spending too much time with Naruto if you're comparing chakra networks to ramen." Sakura said.

That got the weakest of smiles from the other girl. "I hope she's all right."


	6. 3 days

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.

* * *

Kumo awoke to pain. She hurt everywhere. Her body was one dull ache, except for a jagged line of pain across her left side. She felt a low moan escape her lips, and three figures appeared in her field of vision. The girl with the dark blue hair and the funny eyes was looking at her intently. "Her chakra network is still stable." She reported.

The girl with the pink hair addressed her patient. "No medic has tried to heal you, considering your reaction previously. Can you tell me about what happened? Has it happened before?"

Kumo tried to speak, but her throat was dry and raw and she started coughing instead. Shino helped her sit up while the girl with pink hair held a cup of water to her lips. "I can normally end an episode of mine by expelling all of my chakra at once as flames coming from my mouth and transforming, but I couldn't hurt Shino. He's the only one left who acknowledged I exist. I had to hold it in. Had to try to stay human." She croaked. _To think that she endured that pain in order not to injure me._ Shino thought. "I think you could heal me, my chakra's stable now." Kumo continued, unaware of Shino's thoughts.

Pink girl held out a green hand and the throbbing in Kumo's side eased. "You tore your side up pretty good on a rock during your episode. Is this how you got your scars?"

Kumo shook her head. "Less than a quarter. Most are from the council…" her voice trailed off and her eyelids slid closed.

"The council?" Sakura whispered.

"She told me that she was tortured as punishment if her father failed or to show what would happen if he disobeyed. Presumably it is a council that was using her. What council, I do not know." Shino replied.

Sakura finished her healing and asked the boy "Will you stay with her? Tsunade wants a report."

Shino nodded.

When Kumo woke again, only Shino was still in the room. His glasses were on his face again, and she couldn't tell where he was looking. "You're wearing your glasses again."

Shino turned toward her, and removed his shades. "Are you happy now?"

She just looked at his eyes intently without saying anything. Shino found this disconcerting, but hid it well.

After studying his eyes for a minute and thinking, Kumo closed her eyes tightly. Shino carefully watched as fur sprouted on her face and faded, her nose lengthened and shrank, whiskers appeared and disappeared. Her features settled back to human, but she opened her eyes and Shino could see that one was now brown and one was grey, just like his, though hers weren't quite human.

"Why did you change your eyes to match mine?"

She shrugged. "You seem self-conscious about your eyes, so I thought I might understand if mine looked like yours, but I forgot how hard a partial transformation is." While she was talking, her grey eye flickered back to its usual hazel before she forced it to return to grey. "And it's even harder to keep two different partial transformations going at the same time, one for each eye."

"Should you be doing that while still in the hospital?"

"It won't hurt. Transformations never do. Being able to cast normal jutsu can, but never transformations."

"Do you know why that is?"

Kumo shrugged. "I think it might be because my chakra network has to stay put to cast normal jutsu, but transformation rearranges my network as my body changes, so it doesn't matter if it wasn't behaving or not."

"Hmm."

"Can't you say anything a little more interesting than hmm?"

"What would you like me to say?"

"Well I do have one more question that's been bugging me." Shino just raised an eyebrow and waited for her to ask it. "Why do you have a girl's name?"

"Shino is normally a girl's name, but the doctor was confused as to which of the babies in the hospital was my parent's, and told them that I was a female. Once they named me, they couldn't change it when the doctor realized he was mixed up and that I was a boy. Now, since I have shown you my eyes and told you how I got my name, it would only be fair for you to tell me your true name."

"Kumo is as true of a name as I have. I was born as an experiment. For the first years of my life I was called experiment 3951, and my father simply referred to me as Kodomo*. Kumo was the name I chose for myself."

"Kumo." Shino repeated, using her name for the first time. "Did the experiment cause your unstable chakra network and transformations?"

She shrugged. "They didn't really tell me much, they just injected me with drugs, and hooked me up to machines."

"Who is 'they?'"

"The researchers in Iwagakure."

"Were the researchers in league with the council?"

"Yeah. Neither cared about me. To one I was research, to the other a weapon against my father."

"Who is your father? Will you tell me more now?"

"He's dead. I couldn't stop _him_ from taking my father. I didn't wake up until 3 days later. There would have been no point in going after them at that point. He would have died that day, even if I could have found him."

The figure 3 days was haunting Shino. He knew it meant something important, but he couldn't remember what it meant. "Why would he have died on the third day?"

Kumo stared at the sheets on the hospital, sorrow in her eyes as she whispered in a broken voice. "Three days is all they need."

It was driving Shino crazy. So close, but so far. "3 days is all they need for what?"

Her voice was barely audible as tears tracked down her cheeks from her once-again hazel eyes, but Shino's question was finally answered. "For the extraction."

_Extraction! Was her father a jinchuriki?_ Shino reached out to put a hand comfortingly on the girl's shoulder, feeling he should comfort her after forcing her to relieve the trauma. _His being a jinchuriki would explain him being thought of as a weapon._

"3 days. Then the host dies."

_The Akatsuki took her father. The man who she couldn't stop, the one that knocked her out for 3 days and took her father must have been one of them._ Though he didn't let it show, Shino's heart twisted as he watched her curled up in a ball on the bed, sobbing in anguish. _I'm a shinobi. I should be able to put my feelings aside. But somehow she destroys my control._

* * *

**A/n: Kodomo means child in Japanese, and Kumo means spider. **


	7. healing

Disclaimer: Only Kumo is mine. Shino belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Kumo cried herself to sleep, and when she awoke, Shino was missing. _He's always here when I wake up._ She looked around, and noticed a lump on the floor of her hospital room, covered in a blanket. She could just see a little bit of brown hair poking out of the blanket. As if he could feel her watching him, his eyes opened. Kumo still found his differently-colored eyes fascinating. Without realizing what she was doing, she shifted her eyes to match his again.

"Do I really have to stay here still?" Kumo asked.

"It would be advisable. You could have another episode."

"They're part of me. If I stayed in the hospital because I could have another one, I would never leave."

Shino opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and slipped his shades back on as the door of the room opened and the pink haired girl walked in. "Hinata had an idea about your episodes when she was studying your chakra network when you were brought in. She thinks that the instability may be because of your large chakra reservoir overwhelms the network, and it never gets a chance to heal completely before it gets overwhelmed again. She thinks that if you have your chakra drained repeatedly to keep it low for a while, that your passageways can heal completely, and will be able to handle your flow without being overwhelmed."

"Being drained isn't comfortable, but an episode is even less so, and I would like not to have to worry about burning whoever's around me to a crisp. I guess it would be worth a try. How long would it take my passageways to heal, though?"

"Hinata thinks probably a couple of weeks."

Shino's calm voice entered the conversation. "I have a large number of kikaichu, but Kumo has a large reservoir that replenishes itself quickly. Even my kikaichu would not be able to drain that much chakra so often for weeks. We will have to involve others from my clan if we are to implement this plan."

"Would others of your clan be willing?"

"More than willing. If one's kikaichu are fed by another's chakra adequately, they do not feed on the host's chakra. I cannot think of an Aburame that would be opposed to someone volunteering to feed their kikaichu for them."

"Will you ask them now, I have to do an examination of Kumo."

"Of course." Shino departed.

"Let's start with the side you tore up."

Sakura hissed in sympathy when the extent of the scarring on the girl became apparent. Kumo just shrugged when the medic tried to offer her sympathy. "It doesn't do to dwell on the past."

"It makes me angry that someone could have done this to you."

"They think I'm dead now. My father freed me. Having someone love and acknowledge me was worth the pain I endured. Physical pain heals just with time, but loneliness doesn't. That's why I couldn't stop my episode. I couldn't kill Shino. He's the only one left who acknowledges me. He rescued me from being a spider. From living to be hated."

Sakura blinked. She had never heard anyone say anything so profound about Shino. Most people seemed to think him strange, and his bugs rather creepy. "Hey. Perhaps you can get him to take off his shades. No one has been able to make him remove them, and there are a lot of crazy ideas about what he's hiding behind them."

"He's never taken them off for anyone else?" She asked, a little surprised.

"Anyone else?" Sakura repeated. "You've seen him without the glasses?" _No one, not even his teammates has seen him without his glasses! He must really like her. Shino seems to be so robotic, but maybe he actually has hormones like everyone else._

"Yes. He seems a little self-conscious about his eyes."

"So he does have eyes! Kiba was betting that he didn't."

"Of course he has eyes."

"So why is he self-conscious about them?"

"If he wanted you to know what his eyes looked like, he would have shown them."

"Just a hint?"

"You already had a hint. He does in fact have eyes. Two of them, in fact."

Sakura rolled her eyes, but their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Kumo, are you decent?" Shino asked.

Kumo shrugged on the hospital gown again and called "You can come in."

Shino entered. "My clan has agreed that you may stay at the compound for the next few weeks and someone will always be on hand to drain you. If Sakura is done with your examination, we can get you settled in."

Sakura nodded to Shino who was looking at her expectantly. "She's free to go."


	8. listless

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That's why my OCs are OCs, not real.

* * *

"Kumo, this is my father Shibi, leader of the Aburame clan."

Kumo bowed slightly. It was probably best to be polite to the Aburames since they would be allowing her to stay with them for a few weeks.

"Your rooms are this way." Shibi stated and headed for the hallway on their right. When they reached a moderate room, with serviceable furnishings, Shibi asked. "Are you prepared to start your treatment now?"

"Yes."

"I will be the first to drain you. Or, rather, I will be the second to drain you, seeing as Shino drained you during your episode."

He sent out his kikaichu to the girl, but she began shifting shapes uncontrollably and he withdrew the bugs. Kumo regained her human shape and said "The kikaichu will have be distributed evenly over me instead of clustered together. Draining the chakra from one area destabilizes my passageways, and causes me to shift."

"Noted." His kikaichu moved to the girl, but covered her like a second skin this time. When he withdrew the insects, Kumo crumpled, and Shino caught her before she could hit the floor. "You will stay with her for the first shift. Yukio will relieve you in the evening." With that, Shibi departed, leaving his son to place the girl on the bed and wait for her to wake up.

During the first few days that Kumo stayed with the Aburames, Shino kept her company and they talked for most of the day, since being drained of her chakra left her too weak to leave her bed, but she was still the prickly Kumo that Shino knew. But as the days progressed, she grew listless, and Shino had to plead with her to get her to eat anything, and she showed no interest in talking. Worried, he asked Sakura and Hinata to come.

Hinata reported that her chakra networks were stabilizing nicely, and that they should be fully healed in a week, but Sakura was worried about the effects of having her chakra drained constantly. She suggested reducing the amount of chakra drained by a little. A little more chakra may reduce her listlessness, but hopefully not interfere with the healing of her chakra.

When Kumo finally woke from her haze she realized that Shino was sitting on the bed next to her, one arm behind her, struggling to keep her upright while he forced soup between her lips. Her eyes opened, opened a normal width, not the tree quarters closed eyelids that had characterized her for the past few days. Shino, seeing this, smiled in relief. _Wait, did Shino just __**smile**__! I must be dreaming. Shino doesn't smile._ "Ngh." She managed to say.

"You need to eat to get your strength back." Shino told her, worry present in his voice. _I'm definitely dreaming. Shino doesn't get worried._ But she obediently opened her mouth to receive the spoonful of soup that he presented. Dream or no dream, she was hungry.

Her soup finished, Kumo fell asleep, Shino's arm still around her, and her head pillowed on his shoulder.

Yukio, who had the shift after Shino entered the room to see Shino sitting on the bed, the girl sleeping with her head on his shoulder and his lips twitched slightly. "Would you like to take the next shift Shino?"

"I would. I don't want to wake her."

A week later, Hinata pronounced Kumo's chakra network fully healed and Shino breathed a sigh of relief silently. The two weeks had taken their toll on him as well. He had rarely left her side, and struggled to force her to eat when she was listless. There were dark circles under his eyes, hidden by the high collar of his shirt and the ever-present black shades. But Shibi knew his son and had noticed. Shino had never shown any real interest in a female, but he was different around this girl. Shino, never one to show much emotion had been noticeably worried. _I guess Shino does have hormones after all. _

When Kumo awoke again, Shino was present as ever, but she felt different. She felt awake. Crappy, but awake. She vaguely remembered Hinata coming for a final check-up, but the details were fuzzy. "Am I all healed now?"

"Your chakra network is stable, and does not need to be drained anymore, but you have yet to recover from the side effects of the treatment."

"I don't remember much of … however long I've been here."

"For most of the two weeks you were barely conscious at best, so that is not surprising. Now you need to gain back the weight you lost and accustom your muscles to moving again."

Kumo swung her legs to the side of the bed and Shino watched carefully as she attempted to stand. He was there, offering support when her legs protested the sudden movement after 2 weeks of inactivity.

"Where are you going?"

"To take a shower. I feel gross."

"Be careful." Shino warned as she wobbled to the bathroom.

She just waved one hand at him, of course, of course.


	9. restless

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

When Kumo returned from her shower, she saw Shino drooping in his chair. _He doesn't look so hot either._

She slipped back in the bed, and both of them drifted off to a deep, restful sleep.

When Kumo awoke again, Shino was still slumped in his chair, and she decided not to wake him, but she wanted to test out her chakra control now.

When Shino finally awoke, it was to see a large spider with only two eyes instead of eight. One eye was brown, the other dark grey. "You can do three partial transformations now?"

Kumo's eyes shifted to hazel and the spider's head became human just long enough to say "Only when none of the three is human. Human and animal is tough…" Her voice trailed off as she lost control of her human head and it once again became a spider's.

"If you want to try out other jutsu, we can go outside so you won't destroy the house if you lose control."

The spider nodded and followed him out of the room.

Through experimentation, Kumo and Shino figured out that she could now perform other jutsu though they were difficult. Transformations were still second nature and her ability to combine transformations had increased. She could also breathe chakra-fire like she used to do to end her episodes in any of her forms.

"Your abilities have improved with the healing of your chakra network. The last time you had an episode it was set off by a simple clone, and you have done a lot more today without inciting an episode, so it seems fairly safe to assume that your episodes are to be a thing of the past."

"Can't you talk like a normal person?" Kumo demanded, tired, aching and grumpy. "Who uses the word 'inciting' anyways?"

"'Inciting' was the most precise word for the situation."

She glared at him and spat a small stream of fire, making him dodge.

"You should rest. Your chakra is getting low again."

"I've spent too much time in that room. I'll stay outside tonight." She shifted to a hawk, repressed her chakra signature, and sped off into the sky. When she was out of range of his kikaichu, she shifted to a wolf, still repressing her chakra signature. _He'll never find me._ She thought smugly, settling down on the soft carpet of moss.

She awoke to sense two other presences approaching. Her wolf nostrils flared, and she could smell human and dog. They entered the clearing where she had been sleeping and she examined them. The human had brown hair and red triangles painted on his cheeks and the dog was enormous: about as large as she was in her current form. She watched them warily and they watched her. The boy finally spoke. "You don't smell like a wolf." He stated. "Who are you?"

Kumo didn't respond beyond a slight raising of her lip to expose the tip of one fang. She didn't like his tone.

"Show your true form. You smell human." He demanded.

_I would be naked if I was human. Yeah, not gonna happen._

When she didn't heed his orders he growled. "You leave me no choice. Akamaru, man-beast clone." The dog transformed, and the boy called "Fang-over-fang!"

Kumo leapt to the air, fur shifting to feathers and paws to talons. Her eagle form shrieked in fury and swooped at the pair who had reappeared in a giant gouge they had made in the ground. They scrambled backwards, and her talons missed their faces by a narrow margin. As she swooped upwards again, the boy threw a blanket of kunai, forcing her do dodge downwards, and the dog caught her leg in its mouth.

_Nice try. That ain't gonna work with me._ Her leg swelled as she shifted to an elephant, and the dog had to release her leg or have his jaw ripped off as her leg grew.

With a trumpet, she began to charge, only to be halted by a wall of kikaichu between her and her opponent. "That will be quite enough." Shino's calm voice demanded.

"Shino?" The dog boy asked, incredulous.

The kikaichu retreated and the elephant and dog user faced each other. "Kiba, this is Kumo, Kumo, this is Kiba, my teammate."

_Oops._

Shino removed his jacket and handed it to the elephant, who picked it up with her trunk. She disappeared behind a tree to regain her human form and put on Shino's jacket while the boy he had called Kiba demanded "Who is she?"

"She is Kumo. She was rescued from Iwagakure and has spent the last two weeks being healed at the Aburame compound."

"Is that why no one's seen you for two weeks?"

"Yes."

"Why did she need to heal at the Aburame compound, not the hospital?"

"Her condition could only be treated by the constant draining of chakra by our kikaichu."

Kumo stepped out from behind the tree, and Kiba could see her 'true' form: a girl about their age with short reddish-brown hair and hazel eyes, naked except for Shino's over-large coat and liberally sprinkled with scars.

"How did you find me?" She demanded of Shino, ignoring Kiba.

"You lost your suppression of your chakra signature in your battle." He turned to face Kiba as well. "You are both lucky I was able to locate you. Kiba is a trained ninja, a chunin, and Kumo, though not technically a ninja has a talent for transformation that surpasses any I have ever heard of. One or both of you would probably have gotten seriously hurt."

They both looked dubious at this announcement. "Kumo, if you wish to train as a ninja, I will talk to the Hokage and see what can be arranged." Kumo nodded jerkily, still annoyed. She had wanted to fight. After two weeks of barely being able to sit up, she would have loved to kick his ass. "Very well. Kumo, I suggest not picking fights when your chakra is low in the future. And Kiba, I suggest not acting up because a strange wolf is in your territory." With one last grudging look between the shape shifter and the dog boy, Kumo followed Shino to the Hokage's tower.

"Kumo, you wish to train as a ninja of Konoha?"

"Yes."

"And you renounce any allegiance to Iwa?"

She gave a feral smile, her canines unconsciously lengthening. "With pleasure."

"I don't think you would fit in with the Academy children, and you already know some jutsus, so your training will be split between Kakashi, Gai and Kurenai, depending on who is in the village. You will be given temporary lodgings, and a messenger will be sent there to inform you of when to meet your sensei." She handed the girl a slip of paper with an address written on it. "Dismissed."


	10. bell test

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

* * *

Kumo stiffened when her sensei finally decided to show himself. "You were the one that forced me to be human again." She accused.

"I was. My name is Kakashi Hatake, and I will be your sensei for the time being. To give me a sense of your powers, you task will be to retrieve this bell before noon."

Kumo nodded, already formulating a plan.

Two hours in, with one hour left to go, Kakashi sighed in disappointment. He had had such hopes. But she was very predictable and showy. Her transformations were spectacular, but her clones were weak and somewhat transparent, she breathed fire, but her skills with the kunai and shuriken were pitiful, and her strategies were completely unimaginative and simple. _Why did I think I might need my Sharingan?_ He wondered. _She seemed so determined and strong when she was fighting to remain a spider. But now she's going to need a lot of work. _Almost mechanically he parried her blows. "You know you only have one hour left to get the bell. If you don't, there is no guarantee that I will find you worth training."

"That's okay, I already have it." With a triumphant grin, the girl crossing kunai with Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of dust. _What? Was that a shadow clone?_ He saw her standing at the edge of the woods, brandishing a bell. _When did she get that? __**How**__ did she get it?_

"I gotcha!" she crowed, delighted at the puzzled expression that had replaced the confident, bored one on Kakashi's face, or at least the portion that was visible.

Kakashi checked his belt. The bell was not there. _When did she get it?_

"You thought I was weak and pathetic. I've been having a shadow clone play that way as a distraction for two hours until you began to let your guard down. You didn't notice me as an ant crawl up your pant leg and steal the bell." She informed him smugly.

"If that is so, would you care to show me the full extent of your powers?"

"With pleasure." She sprouted orange fur and grew, only stopping when she was a tiger who was as tall at the shoulder as the trees around them. She charged, and when Kakashi leapt aside, she turned her head and spat a huge torrent of fire while he was in the air and less able to dodge. _She anticipated my jumping, and she can release jutsu while transformed._ Kakashi threw a shuriken with a thread attached to it and yanked when it wrapped around a tree branch, pulling himself out of the way of the fiery torrent. _I may need my Sharingan after all. _

For the next hour, it was all Kakashi could do to keep up with her. She had more chakra than he had expected, and shadow clones, though she could only manage two, were formidable when combined with her transformations when she suppressed her chakra signature. It was hard to anticipate from where he would be attacked, or what he would be attacked by. He had to keep alert for everything from giant grizzly bears to ants simultaneously. Though Kakashi noticed that she never used Genjutsu, rarely used Taijutsu, and struggled a bit with Ninjutsu other than transformation. He had never heard of someone being able to keep several partial transformations going at once, but then again, when he had first met her, she was still a spider though her chakra had been drained. Her transformations seemed as natural to her breathing. He wondered whether it was due to being the prodigy of a jinchuriki, the experimentation that had been done on her, or the combination. Either one could also explain her massive chakra reservoir which had led to her "episodes."

"Very well. I think you will be worth training." He stated when she stopped for a moment, gasping for breath. "We will meet here again tomorrow morning, 4 hours before noon."

"Will you be on time tomorrow?" she asked pointedly.

"There was an old lady who needed my help to carry her groceries." Kakashi explained.

"And that took you 3 hours? I don't think so."

Kakashi just shrugged, and with a jaunty wave disappeared in a puff of smoke.


	11. rage and regrets

Disclaimer: Only Kumo belongs to me

* * *

Kumo trained with whichever sensei wasn't off on a mission. Of the three, Kurenai was her favorite, and Gai was just…over the top. Kakashi drove her crazy by not showing up on time. **Ever.** He didn't acknowledge that she was worth enough to show up on time and make the most of the time allotted for their lessons. That hurt the most. The one thing she wanted most in the world was to be acknowledged.

Today was Kakashi's turn again, and he was late, like he always was. She had already been waiting an hour, and he was nowhere to be seen. Twenty minutes later, sensei strolled up, looking like he hadn't a care in the world, casually offering the explanation "I got lost on the road of life."

Kumo had had enough of him. She exploded, shifting to a 20 foot tall lion and roaring with enough force to uproot trees and send her sensei flying backwards. "KAKASHI SENSEI. YOU'RE LATE. AGAIN!" She roared loud enough to send small shockwaves through the Hidden Leaf Village. She lowered her massive head till it almost touched the ground to stare at her sensei eye to eye. Smoldering crimson, slit-pupiled eyes burned into a single dark grey one. One of her enormous paws landed next the jounin. One of her claws was almost as tall as him and flexed next to him.

"You wouldn't kill me." Kakashi stated quietly, refusing to acknowledge her power by even looking the slightest bit concerned.

She roared again, sending another shockwave through the village, her claws clenching tore huge gouges in the ground. "ACKNOWLEDGE ME!"

"Right now, the only person alive who you respect, who truly seemed to care about you when you were broken would be ordered to kill you if you killed me." He reasoned quietly.

The thought of Shino sent her bounding away, trying desperately to contain her rage. _Is this how Father felt? Did the bijuu feel like the rage I felt when Kakashi wouldn't acknowledge me?_ She ran for hours, doubling back on her trail, running through streams, suppressing her chakra signature and shifting forms occasionally. _I lost it. I almost killed my sensei. Shino probably hates me now. Father's dead and I have nothing and no one to live for._ She ran, not caring which direction she went or how her muscles shrieked in protest. Eventually she found herself in the desert and collapsed, her form returning to human as she succumbed to the darkness that enveloped her. The sun seared her, crisping her skin and she did not move.

In Konoha, the village was in turmoil. Everyone had heard the roars, had heard the thundering of "Kakashi sensei, you're late! Again!" as well as her demand "Acknowledge me!" They had all gaped open mouthed at the massive lion with crimson eyes towering above the trees. They had seen her turn and take off, only to disappear from view as she shifted shape.

Kakashi was kicking himself for how he had handled the situation. He had succeeded in convincing her not to kill him, but had crushed her spirit.

Search teams had been searching. Ninja tracking hounds, kikaichu and Byakugan all searched, but she could travel much faster than they could, the scent disappeared every time Kumo had taken a winged shape, and her chakra signature was nowhere to be found. The most they could figure out was that she was heading in the general direction of Suna, prompting a message asking their neighbors to be on the lookout for one seriously pissed off shape shifter, so she could appear as anything.

The Kazekage, having received the dispatch, sent out his own teams to scour the desert between Suna and Konoha. But he didn't have much hope. The desert was a massive and inhospitable place, and they didn't even know what to be on the lookout for.

Kakashi slumped against a tree. He had been searching for his student with his summons for hours and they had lost the trace. He ground one palm into his uncovered eye in weariness. _I really fucked that up. I knew her state of mind was fragile. I spent too much time in Anbu. Sometimes, compliments don't make the student weaker. Sometimes they need to hear that they did well. i'm not in Anbu anymore, but I was still in an Anbu mindset and I fucked up. Thinking isn't going to do her any good though. _With a groan he heaved himself to his feet, ordering the dogs to spread out once again and try to find the trail again. They eyed him warily, but complied.

The next morning, Kotetsu and Izumo, the gate guards were startled to see a giant dog with a spike collar approaching with a limp, silver-haired jounin draped over his back, the rest of Kakashi's pack arrayed around Bull. The dogs hadn't been able to stop their master from his frantic pursuit of his student until he was on the verge of collapse. The guards stared, but allowed the dogs to pass unchallenged as they headed for his apartment.

An hour later, when Yamato returned with his search team, the guards beckoned him over. "Kakashi's in a bad state. You might need to check on him." The younger jounin nodded through his weariness and stumbled off in the direction of his former captain's apartment. He found the other jounin sprawled on his couch, two empty sake bottles on the floor next to him, a third clutched in his hand.

"Tenzo?" Kakashi muttered thickly. "What the hell are you doin' here?"

"Keeping you from dying of alcohol poisoning, sempai." The younger man replied, confiscating the bottle.

"I got another." Kakashi slurred, pulling out a fourth from beside the couch. His kohai took that one as well. "Hic. Gimme the sake. Need it." He was almost begging his friend.

It tore at Yamato's heart to see the man he respected so much pleading for alcohol to drown his regrets in. "Sake is not going to improve anything."

"It helps me forget. I need to forget, Tenzo." he pleaded.

"Sempai."

Kakashi reached over quickly and snatched the bottle, chugging the rest of it, the liquid burning its way down his throat. "Tenzo." the older man whispered as he slid into an alcohol-induced stupor. "I fucked up."


	12. alive

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto, not me.

* * *

When Kumo awoke, she felt like her skin was on fire. A strangled moan somehow managed to escape her blistered, parched throat. A blur that might have been a nurse or nurses plural danced in her vision. Was she seeing multiples, or were there really identical twins or triplets dancing above her? She couldn't think straight when her head felt like it was being split in half. She was vaguely aware that the nurse(s) was/were saying something. She could see her/their lip(s) moving, but it was unintelligible. _What the hell does imkagurne bbblllledddgn mean? That's probably not what she/they is/are trying to say. Kami! My head hurts so bad!_ She blinked a few times, but all three of them were still there, still dancing and spouting gibberish. She tried to lift a hand to touch her splitting head, but the pain from that movement caused her to pass out again.

* * *

"Kazekage-sama?" The nurse (singular) enquired timidly.

"Yes?"

"The patient from Konoha was awake briefly this afternoon. I estimate her chances for survival are now about 80%."

Gaara nodded, pleased. It had not had not made him happy to have to send a message to Konoha two days ago, reporting that the girl had been found, but that she was in critical condition and only had a 30% chance of survival. _Whoever they sent should be here tomorrow._ "I'm sure that the group that is on its way from Konoha at the moment will be pleased to hear that when they arrive. Will they be able to see her?"

"I doubt that she will be conscious, but I don't see why they couldn't see her if they remained silent and didn't disturb her."

Gaara nodded. "Thank you." And turned back to his paperwork.

* * *

Temari greeted the Konoha team at the gate. "I will show you to the hospital."

"How is Kumo doing?" Shino asked.

"She's still alive. I think the nurse said she had survived the worst and that she would probably pull through."

Shino nodded, hiding his relief to know that she was still alive. It had been eating away at him to travel, knowing that chances were that by the time they reached Suna, Kumo would probably be dead.

The nurse showed Hinata, Sakura and Shino to the room where Kumo was sleeping. Hinata gasped when she saw the mass of blisters that was Kumo at the moment. The nurse shot her a glare and held a finger over her lips. Silently, the three Konohagakure ninja approached the bed to observe the patient. Her eyes flickered behind her closed eyelids, and her breath came in short, ragged gasps. Her skin was red and blistered where it wasn't covered in bandages and she had quite a variety of tubes and wires connecting her to various machines. After taking a thorough look, they exited the room so they could have a discussion.

"Her chakra network was stable at least." Hinata reported.

"She still has a slight fever," the nurse reported, "And she was found severely burned and suffering from heat stroke. But she did briefly regain consciousness yesterday, though she did not seem to understand anything that was going on around her. It will be a week at the minimum before she is stable enough to be moved to Konoha."

They all nodded in understanding. "I will show you to where you can stay. If she regains consciousness and awareness, I may allow you to visit her for a short period."

Though Shino remained outwardly calm, inside he felt the stirring of unfamiliar emotions. Analyzing them, he came to the understanding that he had been feeling worry for Kumo, and now that he had seen that she should recover he was feeling anger towards Kakashi. _He had been briefed on her past before becoming one of her senseis. He should have realized that her emotional state is fragile. He almost caused her death with his selfish desire to maintain his "cool" image and always arrive fashionably late._

* * *

Tsunade called Kakashi to her office. The copy nin arrived, hands hanging limply at his sides, a dark circle beneath the one uncovered eye. "Feeling sorry will do neither of you any good. What is done is done, and cannot be changed. Kumo will survive, and when she arrives back, you will acknowledge her, and apologize, properly. If she wishes a new sensei, you will honor her decision. And after you leave my office, you _will_ shower, eat and sleep. Yamato will make sure of that. You're no good to anyone in the state you're in. Yamato, escort him to his house." Tsunade commanded. Kakashi blinked, did he really not realize that Tenzo was in the room already when he entered?

The Anbu greeted Kakashi with "Senpai." When Kakashi just blinked at the younger man, he put his hand under his former teacher's elbow and hauled him out of the office.

"What are you doing, Tenzo?" Kakashi finally asked.

"I'm going by Yamato now, remember? And I was ordered to get you out of the pity you've sunk into. You can't change the past, Senpai." He added in a softer voice.

_Oh, but I wish I could. How I wish I could._

* * *

Kumo woke to feeling like her skin was still on fire, though it also itched now. She stopped concentrating on the pain/itch when she heard her name spoken. She could just make out the conversation being carried on in low voices outside the hallway.

"…progressing nicely…heals fast…mumble, mumble, mumble…"

"I am glad to hear that." Kumo was startled to hear that voice. _What was Shino doing here? Wherever __**here**__ was_. "May I see her?" Shino asked.

"You know the drill." The female voice acknowledged.

Shino entered the room, and though Kumo couldn't really tell because he covered so much of his face, she liked to think that he was a at least little happy to see her awake.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like crap." She admitted. Shino nodded, but didn't say anyhting more. "Take off the creepy glasses." She rasped.

One brown and one dark grey eye looked at her analytically. "You're looking better."

"Well, I don't see three of whoever is in my field of vision anymore. At least, I assume that there weren't identical triplet nurses looking after me, and dancing while spouting gibberish."

A corner of Shino's mouth twitched slightly. _Did he just almost smile!_ "I find that unlikely to say the least." But his voice was as calm as ever.

Her voice became more serious. "You came here for me."

"I did." He acknowledged. "You are important."

Kumo thought her heart would beat from her chest in happiness. "I ran because I was afraid I would hurt Kakashi and that you would hate me for it." She told him slowly.

"His behavior was inexcusable, but the next time you feel angry, I hope you do not feel the need to almost kill yourself yet again."

"I thought you would hate me for almost killing him."

"I don't hate you."

"Does Kakashi hate me?" Kumo almost didn't dare to ask.

"No. I think he realizes that it was his fault."

"It was my fault."

"You are new at having a village, being trained as a true ninja, having friends. It is understandable to make mistakes when you're starting off."

Shino's understanding made her feel funny. She had felt so many new things since she had left Iwa, it was overwhelming sometimes. It would be easier if she didn't have to remain human. Humans were so complicated.


	13. acknowledgement

A/n: I will try my best to keep posting one chapter every day, but finals are coming up really fast, so I might have less time to write.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Shino, Hinata, and Sakura remained by Kumo's side for the rest of her stay in the hospital of Suna, talking to her, keeping her company. Kumo was especially interested in befriending the girls. She had never had a friend besides for Shino, and she had never really talked with a female before. She decided she liked them. They didn't put her on the spot, ask her about her past or treat her like a failed experiment. And they laughed! She hadn't heard many laughs in her lifetime. Her torturers/mad scientists hadn't laughed. Her father hadn't laughed much, and Shino didn't laugh. When she brought this up in conversation, Sakura and Hinata told a rather amusing story of Shino and Naruto having to be stand-ins at a funeral where they weren't allowed to laugh, and Shino being given a laughing potion. She tried to picture Shino laughing hysterically and failed. It just didn't seem right.

When Kumo was finally cleared to leave the hospital, she traveled back to Konoha in style. If in style meant riding in Shino's coat pocket as a desert lizard so as to avoid the sun hitting her still-sensitive skin. Sakura and Hinata were originally worried over whether she was in any shape to transform, but Kumo resolved the issue by transforming while they were still discussing it. She didn't mind riding in Shino's pocket. It was much better than being bound and tied to his back. She snuggled against his hand and settled down for the ride.

When they came before the Konoha hospital, Kumo poked her lizard head out of Shino's pocket and saw where they were headed. The hospital. Again. She curled up in a tight little ball in the corner of the pocket and hooked her tiny claws in the material. Shino stopped and looked at his pocket in puzzlement. He looked inside and tried to gently pry her free. She clung to the material tighter. Sakura and Hinata were trying to muffle giggles at the sight of Shino having a tug-of-war with his pocket.

"Kumo, this is ridiculous. Your stay in the hospital will just be long enough to be checked over. You may rest at my house again." The little lizard released the fabric of his pocket and just lay in the palm of his hand making tiny pathetic noises. "You will be fine." Shino told her firmly.

* * *

After two more days, Kumo was given the all-clear, though she was warned to take it easy at first. She immediately headed for the training grounds, ready to take out her anger and confusion on some wooden posts, but she avoided the training ground where she had confronted Kakashi.

Exhausted from her training, Kumo decided to just lay back and enjoy the sunshine in her wolf form, one of the first she had learned. She was almost asleep when she heard a low voice. "Kumo."

She sprang up, whipped around, saw the silver-haired jounin, and tucked her tail between her legs as tightly as she could, crouching on the ground and exposing her neck, one of the most submissive postures a wolf could adopt. The jounin crouched on the ground, bringing himself down to her level. "I came to apologize. What I did was unfair to you. You were truly a gifted student. My lateness was an indirect acknowledgement of that. If I had thought that you needed every minute of the lesson, I would have shown up on time. My lateness was still inexcusable, and I will understand if you still want a different sensei." The wolf stayed crouched on the ground at his feet, not looking at him, ears still half back. "I am sorry, Kumo. I don't know if you can forgive me, but if you still would like to learn from me, I will be at training ground 2 at nine tomorrow." When there was still no response from the wolf at Kakashi's feet he stood and left, not knowing how to fix his mistakes.

* * *

Shino's meditation was interrupted by the knocking at his door. "Kiba, what is the matter?"

"Come on. I'll fill you in on the way there."

Puzzled, Shino followed his agitated teammate. "What is going on?"

"Kumo has been at the training grounds for hours and won't stop. Neji says her chakra is getting really low, but she won't listen to us or turn human to talk to us. She seems to trust you, so we thought you could talk some sense into her. Isn't she supposed to be taking it easy?"

"Something must have upset her." _Probably someone with silver hair._ The emotion that he had identified before as anger returned. He wrestled to get it under control. _Being out of control and angry is definitely not going to help Kumo regain her own control._ He passed the last of the trees surrounding the path to see the training grounds. In the center, a slightly bloodied and gasping for breath spider faced an equally bloody and exhausted wolf. The eyes of Kumo and her shadow clone met, and they surged forwards to do battle once again, changing forms rapidly. Fox vs. snake, bear vs. eagle, mountain lion vs. rhinoceros, and they stood apart again gasping for breath. "Kumo."

Her name, spoken quietly and calmly broke through her haze of hatred towards herself for overreacting about Kakashi, and for not having the courage to face him. When her adrenaline rush left her, her shadow clone disappeared, she regained her human form, her legs collapsed and she closed her eyes, waiting for the impact with the ground that never came. She felt warm hands holding her up and leaned against Shino. He wrapped her in his coat and motioned to Neji and Kiba, indicating that they should leave, that he would handle it.

"Did you see Kakashi?" Shino asked gently.

Kumo nodded into his shoulder that she was leaning on. "I shouldn't have wanted to kill him…he said he was late because I didn't need every minute of training…he said that was his way of acknowledging me…I tried to kill him for acknowledging me." She cried brokenly into his shoulder.

"It was not your fault. He should have acknowledged you directly."

"Why are you siding with me? All I've ever done for you is cause more trouble and wait for you to bail me out."

"Because you were willing to be my friend, regardless of the fact that I wore 'creepy' glasses and have insects living within me. Because you endured much longer than you needed to during your episode in order not to hurt me. Because you cared enough about me to be able to control your rage towards Kakashi."

Kumo cried into his shoulder and he simply held her, letting her emotions run their course.


	14. canine for a day

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Kakashi arrived at the training grounds at 8, an hour early. He had never been early for anything, but he wanted to change things. If Kumo showed up, he wanted to show that he meant his apology. At nine, he felt a chakra signature at the edge of his sense: Kumo's. She concealed it soon after, but Kakashi's nose, sensitive after working with tracking hounds for years could faintly pick up her scent from the other edge of the clearing. He waited patiently, not looking at the area she was hesitating in. After a half an hour, she slunk into the clearing in wolf form again, tail still tucked tightly between her legs and head lowered, exposing her neck, but she was standing this time, which Kakashi took to be a sign of improvement.

_Talking to her didn't really help last time. Maybe I have to communicate to her on her own level._ Kakashi formed a hand seal and transformed. Kakashi the wolf tucked his tail between his legs, lowered his head and crouched on his belly on the ground in front of her, indicating a submissive apology.

Her tail relaxed a bit, held in a more natural position, though it wasn't waving proudly in the air like it had been the first time Kakashi had seen her wolf form, and she didn't regain her human form. When he remained crouched on the ground, she approached and shoved him to his feet with her snout. Kakashi released his transformation, assuming that he was forgiven, to some degree at least.

"Are you up to a lesson today?" He asked gently. The wolf dipped its head in acknowledgement, but stayed wolf and stayed slightly wary. Kakashi thought for a moment before he came up with a lesson that would not require her to regain her true form, since that seemed to be out of the question at the moment. "We could focus on your ability to track scents in that form." Kakashi suggested, and when the wolf just watched him patiently, he formed a hand sign, bit his thumb and slammed it into the ground. A small brown dog appeared, and at the sight of the wolf, immediately raised its hackles and snarled. "What is a wolf doing here?" the dog demanded of Kakashi.

The wolf was back to its former position in the blink of an eye, tail tucked between its legs, crouched on the ground, neck exposed. Kakashi sighed. _Two steps forward, one step backwards._ "Pakkun, this is my student. She's just feeling more comfortable in wolf form at the moment. I summoned you to help me teach her how to use that nose to track scents."

Pakkun looked at the submissive pose and released the snarl and his hackles. "Sorry, pup. I just don't like wolves. They sometimes try to eat me."

Kumo remained in her submissive position, though she did raise her head a little so that she could see the small dog a little better.

_How could someone so timid be worth anything as a ninja if she doesn't even have the confidence to stand up to me when she's a wolf? _Pakkun wondered, trying to figure out why Kakashi would have thought her worth training. _Kakashi is normally pretty logical, for a human, that is._

"Get up." The little dog told her. "You can't track anything in that position." Kumo stood, tail still tucked beneath her body.

"What do you smell?" the dog asked her, and she lifted her nose to the air and tried to unscramble the assortment of different scents mingling in the air of the clearing.

When the lesson was over, Kakashi acknowledged that she worked hard and made improvement, and she looked at him for a moment before she slunk back to the woods. Sighing once more, Kakashi headed for his house, followed by Pakkun who asked "Why bother even teaching someone as timid as she is? She'll never make it as a ninja that way."

Kakashi sighed. "She didn't use to be that way. I broke her." Kakashi began his explanation of her tragic past, what their lessons had been like previously, how she had lost control and fled after almost deciding to kill him.

"You messed up." The little dog confirmed.

"I know. I'm surprised she even came. I would have understood if she never wanted to see me again. But maybe I can fix this."

* * *

Kumo wandered the woods for a while after her lesson, unwilling yet to return to civilization. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice his approach. She watched him hunt around in the underbrush, finally surfacing with a kunai clutched in his little hand. She watched as he wrinkled his little face in concentration then launched it at the target. It missed wildly and disappeared into the foliage once more. This time though, he couldn't find it. After a few moments Kumo shifted to a small dog, figuring he would be more comfortable with her in this shape and she picked up the weapon with her teeth and approached him. The little boy's face, which had been twisted in frustration suddenly gave way to joy as he saw her with the kunai. "Doggie! You found my kunai!"

Feeling brave, she stepped closer, dropping it at his feet and wagging her tail slightly. The little boy, grinning from ear to ear, smacked her repeatedly on the head, happily crying "Good doggie! Good doggie!"

The little boy continued his target practice, Kumo retrieving his kunai when he lost them, and receiving thumps on the head in return. When the sun was about to touch the horizon, a call came through the trees. "Takumi! Where are you? It's dinner time!"

"I'm right here, Kaa-san! I found a puppy! She brings back my kunai!" Kumo wagged her tail slightly at the woman approaching.

"But no one around here has a puppy. Where did it come from?" The woman asked.

The little boy shrugged. "But she's a nice puppy. Can we keep her?" The little boy looked at his mother pleadingly.

_Oops. You can't adopt me! I'm not really a puppy!_

Luckily his mother replied. "You know your father is allergic to dogs." kumo breathed a sigh of relief. "But why don't we take it to the Inuzuka's shelter? I'm sure they will take good care of her."

Takumi pouted, "But, Kaa-san!" he protested.

"No." she said firmly. "The Inuzukas will take good care of her and find a nice family to adopt her."

Tearfully, Takumi followed his mother, clutching Kumo the puppy tightly in his arms.


	15. reactions

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, just my student loans. And a whole lot of textbooks.

* * *

Takumi's mother knocked, and was met at the door by a slightly confused Kiba. Before Kiba could ask the question on the tip of his tongue, the woman began. "My son found this puppy. It doesn't seem to have a home, and my husband is allergic to dogs. Could you look after it?" The little boy simply looked pleadingly at the teenager, tears welling up in his large eyes.

"Of course. We'll look after him or her. I wonder which it is?" Kiba turned the struggling puppy upside down and peered between the legs. "She is a she." He announced.

_Turning into a puppy was SUCH a bad idea!_ Kumo whimpered.

"C'mon pup. Let's get you settled in." He told Kumo, closing the door behind the mother and child who had brought her here.

_How did I get myself into this mess? Well, there's one easy way to fix this._ She took a breath in and shifted to her spider form. Kiba dropped her, crying "AARGH!" He _hated_ spiders! _Wait, spider?_ "Kumo, is that you?"

The spider just looked at him with all eight eyes. "Oh. Right. Of course it's you. Who else would be brought to the shelter as a puppy then turn into a spider? If I find you some clothes to change into will you go human and tell me what's going on?"

The spider nodded and Kiba returned a moment later with a pair of pants and a shirt in his hands. He placed them on the floor the turned around saying "These are my sisters, so they might be a little big on you. You're a little short as a human." Kumo could hear the smirk in his voice at the last sentence.

She finished dressing then informed him "You can turn around now, and I am _not_ short."

Kiba grinned, exposing his unnaturally long canines. He reached out a hand, and drew it in a straight line from the top of her head to his chest, about three inches down from his collarbone. "Sorry, but you _are_ short, whether you like it or not."

She tilted her head up to glare at him. Kiba wisely decided to change the topic. "So what were you doing as a puppy? Not that you didn't make a cute puppy."

_Wait. Did he just indirectly call me cute?_ Kumo decided to ignore that. She shrugged. "The little boy had lost his kunai, I knew where it was, but didn't have my clothes with me, so I brought the knife back as a puppy. I wanted to be helpful for once, instead of a burden like I normally am."

"You're not a burden!" Kiba protested. "I think we all like training with you. We had never fought someone who fights like you do, so it was good training." Though Kumo could see the logic behind his argument, the way he said them made her feel a little uncomfortable, especially how he had never stopped smiling. _Does he like me or something?_

Thankfully Kiba's explanation of how she wasn't a burden was interrupted by a call from his mother. "Kiba! Dinner!"

"You want to stay for dinner?" Kiba asked her.

"No thanks. I'd better be going." She turned to leave, but was halted by a strong hand gripping her arm. Instinctively she shifted, and slithered out of his grasp. Turning, she faced him as a King cobra, hood expanded, fangs bared before she realized that it was Kiba who had grabbed her. He was staring at her in shock. She let her hood relax and her mouth close.

Kiba gulped. "Um, I'll just turn around and let you change again."

When Kumo was dressed and facing him again, her words were of apology, but her voice wasn't apologetic but flat and hard. "I apologize for threatening you, but in the future, you would do well to remember that I feel threatened when I am grabbed from behind. I wouldn't intentionally kill you, but I could have easily by accident." She exited the Inuzuka's house, leaving a wide eyed, open mouthed Kiba to be found by his mother.

Seeing his face, Tsume put a hand on her son's shoulder. "I know you liked her, but you must have _really_ liked her if a rejection left you like this."

"She didn't reject me. She almost killed me, by accident."

His mother sniffed. The smell of Kiba's fear was extremely strong, but it was partially masked by the equally strong fear and anger of Kumo. Taking a deeper breath, she also smelled a drop of something on the floor. "Snake venom?" she asked.

"Yeah. I grabbed her arm, she freaked, turned into a cobra and almost killed me before she realized who I was."

"I'd suggest not grabbing her in the future."

"Yeah." Kiba's voice was shaky. "I'm definitely not doing that again."

* * *

Outside the Inuzuka compound, Kumo buried her face against the concrete of an empty building. _I almost killed him._ Tears wracked her body. _Why do I keep messing up? I'm too dangerous to be around people. That's two allies that I've almost killed. Someday I will slip and actually kill. I'm more of a danger than it is worth for Konoha to keep. And I have no one else in this world. _She stared at her hands for a long time, before ending her sobs with a shuddering breath. With shaky hands, she drew out a kunai from her pouch. For a few moments, she stared at the light glinting off the razor edge with morbid fascination. She saw in her mind how the light would flash as she brought the knife to her wrists. _It will be better for everyone if I just leave now. I will kill someone, and I can't be allowed to do that. _With one last, deep breath, she raised the knife.

* * *

A/N: Haha. Cliffhanger! If you want to know what happens to her, you'll just have to read the next chapter tomorrow.


	16. damage control

Disclaimer: I am writing **fan**fiction. Of course I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Hinata and Shino were walking back into Konoha after coming from the training grounds. Hinata had the niggling feeling that something was wrong. She saw a flash of light that she immediately recognized. She had seen light glinting off of a kunai many times before. _Why would someone have a kunai out in the middle of town?_ "Byakugan." She murmured. Shino looked at her, slightly puzzled. _Why would Hinata be using her Byakugan?_ Suddenly she gasped and leapt forward as fast as he had ever seen her move. Without thinking, he bolted after her.

He arrived in the alley a fraction of a second after his teammate to see her with one hand clenched around the blade of a kunai being held by Kumo. Hinata's other hand was clamped over Kumo's other wrist, which was spurting blood. Hinata had been trained to remain calm so her voice was steady as she ordered Shino to get medics. He didn't hesitate. The wound to Hinata's hand looked deep, and the slash on Kumo's wrist was gushing profusely, despite the other girl's grip on it. Shino's kikaichu reported that Sakura was a block away and poured chakra into his feet, landing in front of her a second later. "We need you Sakura."

She didn't question, just sped away after Shino, following him back to the alley. Sakura tried not to concentrate on the fact that it was Hinata and Kumo, two of her friends that were bleeding, trying to focus all of her attention on the ugly wounds. Kumo's first. The amount of blood spurting indicated that she had nicked the radial artery, if not severed it completely. Hinata could wait. Her injuries were not life threatening, and she wouldn't lose too much blood if she didn't remove the knife.

"Keep the knife in." Sakura ordered, bending over the unconscious form of Kumo with a green glowing hand. She bit her lip as she saw the extent of damage. It was going to take a lot of chakra, but she could seal the artery. Luckily it wasn't completely severed. "Call another medic for Hinata." She gritted out while she worked on Kumo. She wasn't going to have anything left for the Hyuuga when she was done with Kumo.

_Dammit. I thought she was doing better. What made her decide that suicide was the only option? Concentrate Sakura. Nothing else matters but the wound. Okay. The artery first…Muscle next…_ When she had finished, she looked up blearily to see a medic she didn't know looking at her with concern.

"What's the situation?" he asked.

"Radial artery had been cut, but not completely severed. I repaired that and the deepest of the muscle damage. But my chakra's gone." The unfamiliar medic nodded, as aware as she that arterial damage was difficult to repair and depended on immediate attention. "She was lucky." Sakura murmured hollowly. _Though I don't know if she would think so. Her slice didn't show any hesitation scrapes. She was serious about suicide. Luckily Hinata stopped her from slicing the other one. I couldn't have repaired them both._ "How is Hinata's condition?"

"The other patient is stable and resting comfortable. She should be out of the hospital in a day or two. Is this patient stable enough to be moved?"

Sakura nodded her agreement, and a stretcher was gently laid in the pool of blood next to Kumo's unconscious form.

When Kumo awoke, she saw the bright white ceiling, and smelled the antiseptic. _Damn! I'm in the hospital again. _She rolled her eyes, trying to see if anyone was in the room with her. To her left, she saw another bed, a mass of long midnight blue hair strewn over the pillow. A tear leaked from her eye. _I just wanted to stop causing problems, and I just caused more. _Her mind brought forth the all too clear memory of Hinata grabbing the kunai with her bare hand just an inch from her wrist.

The door opened, interrupting her tortured thoughts. Hinata's eyes blinked open. "Shino-kun." She greeted.

"How are you feeling?" he greeted his teammate, as Kumo was pretending to still be asleep. There was no way she could face them again so soon. She still remembered how Shino's face had gotten pale at the sight, Kumo's blood spurting into the sky, Hinata with the kunai buried in her hand.

"I'm feeling much better. Have you heard how Kumo is doing?" the shy girl's voice was filled with concern.

_How can she still care for me so much? I hurt her. Unintentionally, but I hurt her, just like I almost hurt Kakashi and Kiba._ "Why don't you ask her?" Shino asked Hinata.

"But she's still unconscious!"

"Her heart rate is faster than when I was last here, I suspect that she is really awake."

"I shouldn't be awake, I should be dead." Kumo rasped, never opening her eyes, not trusting them not to start crying. "I hurt you Hinata. I was trying to make sure that I would never hurt my friends again, and I still managed to hurt you. Sakura should have just let me die."

Hinata gasped at her explanation, delivered in a monotone. "Kumo?"

"I almost killed Kakashi, then I almost killed Kiba and hurt you. You would all be better off without me."

"What happened with Kiba?" Shino asked gently.

Kumo narrated her evening without opening her eyes.

"Your logic is flawed." Shino informed her. "You are no longer in any danger of killing Kakashi, and your reaction to being touched unexpectedly can be changed. If we create clones, and have them touch you unexpectedly, then you can practice not killing them instinctively until you feel comfortable. That should resolve the issue. Also, you failed to take into account the emotional damage you would do to your friends if you committed suicide."

The tears that Kumo had desperately been trying to restrain leaked out between her closed eyelids. She felt gentle fingers wipe them away and successfully restrained her instinct to kill the fingers which she could guess were attached to Shino.

"There, that was progress." His deep voice commented. "I touched you without you seeing who it was and you started to move, but you controlled your instinct. If we practice, you shouldn't have to worry about an incident like at the Inuzuka house. Though he should know not to grab a ninja from behind. You are not the only one to instinctively move to attack in that situation."

Kumo's tears simply leaked out faster. _Why do they never hate me?_


	17. aftermath

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns everything on my story except for Kumo.

* * *

Kiba had finally recovered from his shock enough to begin his search for Kumo. But the sky was crying, drowning out her scent. He searched futilely with increasing desperation until he saw a familiar hooded figure. "Shino! Have you seen Kumo? I need to apologize."

"She is currently located in room 212 of the hospital."

Kiba stopped in his tracks. "The hospital?"

"Yes. She was sleeping when I left."

"What happened?" Kiba asked, desperately trying to ignore the sinking feeling in stomach telling him that it was all his fault.

"She tried to kill herself."

Kiba sat down hard, not caring about the puddle that he landed in. "Oh Kami. It's my fault. I shouldn't have grabbed her." He stared at his hands in horror. "It's my fault, isn't it?"

"The reasons that she cited were that she had almost killed Kakashi and almost killed you, that we would be better off if she was gone. She viewed herself as a threat."

"Is she alright?"

"She will recover completely. It was fortunate that Sakura was only a block away and that Hinata managed to grab the kunai before she slit her other wrist. Sakura was able to reconnect the slashed radial artery."

"Oh Kami."

"Emotionally, I think she is a little better. I have devised a training regimen involving clones to accustom her to being touched unexpectedly. When she stops accidentally killing the clones that startle her, I believe her emotional state will be improved enough that we will not have to worry about a second attempt on her own life."

Kiba closed his eyes. "Oh Kami. I'm such an idiot."

"You cannot change the past." Shino informed him flatly, carefully hiding his emotion. He had felt anger towards his teammate for shattering Kumo's emotional stability, and Kiba's inability to do anything but wallow in pity and whimper made him resent the other boy. He didn't understand why he was feeling these emotions. Around Kumo the strong box he kept his emotions in cracked and they started to ooze out. There was something about her that made him want to lose control of his objectivity and protect her for some reason he couldn't understand.

"Kiba." He said calmly. "Sitting in a puddle and muttering 'Oh Kami' will not help either of your situations. Go home. Change into dry clothes and plan your apology."

His teammate didn't look at him as he stood and shuffled off through the rain, shoulders slumped.

Shino on the other hand strode off with purpose in his steps. He needed to gather others who could use clones and surprise the girl if she was going to learn not to kill anyone who touched her when she wasn't expecting it. Namely Kakashi and Naruto.

Shino knocked on the dark grey door, waiting for someone to answer, not wanting to trigger the traps that he was sure resided just inside. He heard shuffling. The door opened halfway to reveal Kakashi who looked like he had been asleep. His vest was gone, as was his hitai-ate and his hair looked even more unruly than it normally did. "Shino."

"I need your help. It's about Kumo."

The copy nin silently motioned the younger ninja to come in and sit down. Kakashi poured himself a cup of sake and motioned questioningly towards Shino with the bottle. Shino shook his head. Even if he wasn't sixteen, his kikaichu would neutralize the alcohol and he saw no reason to strain them.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked after downing his cup in one motion.

"She tried to kill herself. She slashed one wrist, but Hinata managed to catch the blade before she could slash the second. Sakura was only a block away and sealed the radial artery that she had slashed. She is in the hospital, as is Hinata."

"Damn. I thought she was improving again."

"Apparently Kiba surprised her when he grabbed her arm from behind. She almost killed him before she realized who it was. She convinced herself that she was a danger that needed to be eliminated."

"How convinced was she?"

"There were no hesitation marks. She was convinced."

Kakashi stared into his empty cup. "What do you need me for?"

"I thought that she could reprogram her instincts. That we could use shadow clones to surprise her while she is going about her normal life until she no longer tries to kill anyone who surprises her."

Kakashi nodded slowly. "Someone should stay with her until she finishes her reconditioning." Shino heard he underlying message: _In case she tries suicide again._ "I don't think she has completely forgiven herself on my account, so she should probably stay with you again."

Shino nodded. "She seems to trust me for whatever reason."

"You are her support. You rescued her, cured her episodes, kept her from killing me, brought her back from Suna, and were there when she was trying to die. She trusts you."

Shino didn't answer for a few moments, though Kakashi could see that his eyebrows were drawn together in thought even if the expression in his eyes and mouth were hidden from view. Finally he spoke. "Then will you use your shadow clones when she is released from the hospital and can begin her conditioning?"

Kakashi nodded. "Are you going to include anyone else?"

"I had thought about Naruto, since he is one of the few others who can use that technique. But I'm not sure that would be a good idea."

"He is not the most diplomatic, and can be remarkably clueless, but his heart is in a good place, and it is harder not to be optimistic around him. I think it might be a good idea to include him."

"I will find him." _It shouldn't be that hard. He's probably at Ichiraku's. _

Shino was correct. Naruto was at Ichiraku's paying for the teetering stack of empty bowls in front of him. "Naruto."

"SHINO? WHAT'S UP?" Naruto called loudly.

"I need your help."

"YEAH! WHATCHA NEED?"

Shino outlined his plan after explaining what had happened to Kumo yet again.

"SURE! I'LL CHEER HER UP IN NO TIME! BELIEVE IT!"

"I will let you know when she is out of the hospital and we can begin."


	18. touch

Disclaimer: I did not acquire the rights to Naruto since my last disclaimer.

* * *

Tsunade tapped her foot dangerously while glaring over her cup of "tea." Her voice was dangerously calm as she began. "Naruto, I would have expected this of, but I thought you had more sense, Kakashi."

"HEY!" Naruto protested while Kakashi remained as he was, hands casually stuffed in his pockets, uncovered eye expressionless.

"I thought we had adequately explained why we needed to surprise Kumo with shadow clones." he informed her lazily.

"But did you think of **where** you were doing it? Scaring a ninja in the middle of a market full of civilians! Civilians freak out when someone suddenly pulls a knife out and holds it to someone's throat."

"Uuhh." Kakashi responded intelligently.

"The idea seems like a good one, but **do it somewhere else!**" Tsunade was yelling by the end of her sentence, punctuating her words with slams of her fists on the desk.

Kakashi and Naruto began backing away slowly, wondering how many cups of "tea" she had had this morning.

"Now get out of here!"

_With pleasure._

* * *

Kumo was walking away from the chaos that was the market at the moment, watching her feet scuffle through the dust, lost in her memories of scaring the civilians before she thought about what she was doing. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her upper arm, and without thinking, she spun around, driving a kunai through her attacker's abdomen before he dissolved into bugs. She stopped and ground her hands into her face. _I can't do this._

"You can do this." Murmured a quiet voice beside her.

"So now your bugs read minds?"

"No. It was rather obvious what you were thinking. You tried to kill my bug clone, then showed obvious signs of frustration."

"It's still freaky." She grumbled.

Shino decided to ignore her comment and approach the root of the problem. "This is only the first day. It will take time to recondition your reflexes."

"I'm just so tired of having to be fixed. First healing my wounds from Iwa, curing my episodes, recovering from my stay in the desert, and now trying to fix my attempts to kill anyone who touched me."

"I know." He replied quietly. "I've been thinking. Perhaps training you to not kill anyone who touches you unexpectedly would go faster if we also got you more comfortable with being touched when you are expecting it. I assume that if I said 'Kumo, I'm going to put my hand on your shoulder,' you would still feel uncomfortable at the touch."

Kumo looked at the ground beside her left foot, answering Shino's question even without speaking.

"Kumo, I'm going to put my hand on your shoulder." He told her, then slowly extended his arm, maintaining eye contact with her as he brought his hand to touch her shoulder gently. She flinched at the contact like she had been expecting pain. He kept his hand there, never taking his eyes off of hers. "That wasn't awful, was it?"

"Nnnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooo." Her word was drawn out, as though she was unsure.

"Kumo, I'm going to touch your other shoulder as well. I will not hurt you."

She swallowed as she watched his other hand begin its agonizingly slow journey through the air to rest on her shoulder. She couldn't stop her flinch and the closing of her eyes as it came into contact with her shoulder.

"Kumo. Look at me. It's alright. I promise I won't hurt you. Can you trust me?"

If she couldn't trust him, then she couldn't trust anyone. "Y-yes."

"Then trust me that while you are in Konoha, being touched will not hurt you. You are a part of Konoha, and we don't hurt one another." He gently squeezed her shoulders before releasing her. He looked at her for a moment before silently extending his hand again. This time, even without the verbal warning, she barely flinched when he touched her shoulder. "You are already making progress." He informed her.

She smiled her gratitude to him before her face returned to her normal expression. "So where are we going for lunch?" she asked, deciding a change of topic was safer.

One of his eyebrows crept up his forehead slightly. "What indication was given that I would be taking you to lunch?"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't have to be a mind reader to figure that one out. I just got out of the hospital for trying to kill myself. I'm not going to be left on my own anytime soon, you're the only one around, and it's lunch time. Therefore, you're going with me to lunch."

"You are correct in your deductions. Where would you like to go?"

* * *

When Kumo set her bowl down with a satisfied thunk, she caught Shino looking at her. "What?" she demanded.

"You have a piece of noodle stuck to your cheek. I am going to remove it." He slowly reached forward to brush his fingers against her cheek and remove the offending bit of noodle. He was pleased to note that her flinch was barely noticeable. _Her skin is soft._ He noticed, a little surprised. _Why am I even noticing that? I need to focus on the task at hand._ Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a flash of orange, and the next moment Kumo was holding a kunai to the throat of Naruto's clone. But she hadn't killed it, Shino was pleased to note. "You are improving." Shino stated, nodding slightly. The orange eyesore grinned happily before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Naruto (the real him) grinned at Kakashi as his clone disappeared, transmitting the memory of not being killed to the original. "SHE DIDN'T KILL ME!" he cried happily.

"That is good, Naruto." The jounin replied. "But one time is not enough. We must keep her on her toes until she becomes accustomed to not attacking when touched."

"SHINO WAS HOLDING ON TO HER SHOULDERS EARLIER AND HE WIPED A NOODLE OFF HER FACE!"

"That is also improvement, but this is going to require more than one day."

"SHOULD I GO SPOOK HER AGAIN?"

"Not yet, wait until she lets her guard down."

"AWW!"

"You will have plenty of chances to startle her, I'm sure."

"WHY DID THEY HAVE TO GET RAMEN? WATCHING THEM EAT IT WHILE WAITING FOR A CHANCE TO STARTLE HER IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT!"

"You can have ramen later." Kakashi responded habitually; he had pulled out his orange book and was reading it as he always did when Naruto steered the conversation to ramen.

"YOU'RE NO FUN!"

_But reading Icha Icha Paradise is._ Kakashi thought, ignoring his student.


	19. nightmare and smiles

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Kumo could only watch in horror as Kiba and Hinata brought the mangled body through the gates of Konoha. Her stomach sank like a stone and threatened to spill its contents over the ground in front of her as she realized that the bloody mess had to be Shino. His glasses were missing and his mismatched glassy eyes looked up at the sky uncomprehendingly. Kiba was the first to speak. His voice was hollow, like he needed to cry and didn't. "Kumo." She couldn't bear the thought of what he would say next. Shino couldn't be dead! She stuffed her fingers in her ears and screamed, hoping to drown out reality. He can't leave me!

She sat up in her bed, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath, terror in her eyes and pain in her throat from her screams. In the blink of an eye Shino was beside her. "Are you alright?"

She stared uncomprehendingly at him, eyes still wide and wild. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out and she closed it again. Shino gently placed a hand on her shoulder and her arms clamped around him, her face buried in his chest, tears soaking his shirt. He sat on the bed next to her and awkwardly held her. He was pretty sure he couldn't extricate himself from her grip without hurting her. Her tears eventually subsided, and craning his neck to look at her he realized that she had fallen asleep. But even in her sleep her grip hadn't loosened. Sighing silently, he made himself as comfortable as he could without disturbing her.

Shino awoke in an unfamiliar place, momentarily confused before his memories came rushing back. Kumo had grudgingly agreed to let him stay on her couch, grumbling about overprotectiveness. When she had screamed he had run in. Looking down at Kumo, he realized she was still asleep, her grip as tight as ever. He patiently waited for her to awake.

When Kumo woke up, she opened her eyes to see a pair of mismatched ones looking back at her. All sleepiness immediately left her as she realized that she still had a death grip on Shino. "I'm sorry." She muttered to the blankets, a pink flush settling on her cheeks. "You should have pried me off."

"You seemed to be comforted by my presence."

Her blush deepened. She decided to change the topic and escape the situation rather than try to sort through all the emotions she was feeling when she woke to realize that she was hugging Shino and had been all night. "I'm going to take a shower. There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry." She stood abruptly and left, cheeks still a bright enough red to rival a tomato.

Kumo let the soothing water wash over her as she tried to sort out how she was feeling about Shino. _Embarrassment is easy to identify, as is guilt for making him stay. The others are a little harder to pin down. I felt strangely secure in his arms. And strangely happy. Happy. That is a strange emotion. I hadn't felt it very often before coming to Konoha. Come to think of it, I hadn't felt secure very often either before coming to Konoha, or even much after coming here. Maybe security and happiness go together? Maybe I am happy because I feel secure? Shino made me feel secure. Does that mean that Shino makes me happy?_ She shook her head, scattering water droplets, trying to rid herself of her confusion. _I've been in here a while. I'd probably better get out before he decides he has to come make sure I'm alright. That would be even more embarrassing. _

Exiting the shower, she was greeted by the smell of cooking. Entering the kitchen, Kumo asked "What are you making?"

"Breakfast."

She rolled her hazel eyes, making sure he noticed the gesture. "I could have guessed that. What are you making for breakfast?"

"Pancakes. Where are the plates?"

"The cabinet to your left." She replied absentmindedly, digging out silverware. He handed her a plate heaped high with fluffy golden pancakes, and their hands brushed. _What is this strange feeling?_ Kumo wondered about the slight tingling that was quickly fading from the fingertips that had gently brushed Shino's.

Shino noticed her staring at the fingers that he had brushed, but pretended not to notice, placing the skillet in the sink and filling it with water.

To distract herself Kumo took a bite of her breakfast and her eyes widened. "I didn't know you could cook like this!"

"I am glad that you appreciate it."

"If you appreciate my appreciation you should show it with a smile like a normal person."

"I am not used to smiling around other people."

"Well, if I have to practice not killing people, you have to practice smiling." She informed him in a voice that allowed no arguments.

When they were seated at the table, Shino reached out his foot to bump into hers. She jumped then narrowed her eyes at him.

"I was simply ascertaining what your reaction would be a touch on the foot since we have only tried shoulders, fingers and cheek so far."

"Well I just practiced not killing you, so now you have to practice smiling."

One corner of Shino's mouth twitched jerkily. Kumo sighed. "That's not how you smile." She informed him. Moving closer, she placed her index fingers at the corners of his mouth, gently tugging them up. The gentle smile on her face and how close she was made Shino's heart rate increase a little, and he remembered which muscles he was supposed to use to smile. The corners of his mouth curved up and he was rewarded with a brighter smile from the girl who was resting her fingers on his face. He had never been this close to a woman who wasn't family except while fighting or training. He tried to slow his heartbeat down but it refused to respond until she removed her fingers from his face and sat down again.

_Why does she make me feel this way?_


	20. falling

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Kumo, and a computer screen that dislplays a lovely "Review this chapter" button that no one is clicking.

* * *

Kumo felt that things were returning to normal, or as normal as they were going to get. She had started attending her lessons with Kakashi in human form, and she had stopped trying to kill the clones that startled her. She still spent the most time with Shino, but she had also begun to spend more time with Sakura and Hinata. She truly enjoyed their company, though she still was puzzling over what it was about Naruto that made her shy friend obsessed with him to the point where she would faint if he touched her. All his yelling and flourescent orange just gave Kumo a headache, but maybe Hinata was immune to them or something. Sakura had a more reasonable opinion of her former teammate in Kumo's opinion. But then again, she had heard a lot about Sasuke, and she didn't understand how Sakura could have been obsessed with him.

Today she was going to see Sakura though, and not as a friend. "Sakura?" she asked.

Sakura turned around to see the other girl standing in the doorway. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I think I might be coming down with something." Kumo explained.

"Why don't sit down and describe your symptoms?" Sakura requested.

"Well, sometimes my heart rate increases and becomes erratic. My stomach feels like it's trying to do flips, and blood tries to rush to my face. Then I'm so distracted by what's going on that I start stuttering and acting stupid. It's been getting worse."

Sakura smiled, to Kumo's surprise. _Shouldn't she be worried? _"Do these spells always happen when you're around a particular person?" she asked.

Kumo thought back. _Come to think of it, it always happens when I'm around Shino. Why would that be? I guess it's probably just because I'm around him a lot, so the chances that it would happen while i'm around him are high._

"Yeah, I guess. It's probably just a coincidence though."

Sakura's smile widened. "What you have is called a crush. Who is it?" she demanded excitedly.

Kumo just stared at her. _I have a crush on Shino?_ _That's her explanation? _

Sakura sighed when the girl didn't respond and repeated her question. "Who do you have a crush on?"

"…" Kumo continued looking at the other girl like she had sprouted an extra two heads, and they were both spouting gibberish. While dancing. And glowing green.

"Answer me." Sakura admonished.

"mumblemumble" Kumo said, hoping that would placate her stubborn friend.

Sakura looked at her, one eyebrow raised. "If you don't answer, I will shove an entire orchard's worth of lemon juice down your throat." Sakura threatened, knowing that Kumo hated sour things.

"Shino." Kumo whispered, cowed into submission knowing that her friend wouldn't hesitate to make good on her threat.

"SHINO!" Sakura yelled in surprise. "_You_ like **_Shino_** of all people!" It looked like Sakura was as bewildered by Kumo's crush as Kumo was bewildered by Hinata's crush on Naruto, or Sakura's obsession with Sasuke.

Suddenly the look of shock disappeared from Sakura's face, and was replaced with a cunning look.

_Oh no! I don't want to know what she's planning! _Kumo thought, rapidly exiting the room before she could dig herself a deeper hole.

Kumo didn't have to wonder what Sakura was planning for long. The next day, when Kumo and Shino were talking, Sakura sneaked up behind the girl and pulled her feet out from under her. She fell forwards into Shino. By reflex, his hands reached out to catch her as she collided with him and their faces met, lips crashing into each other's. _His lips are warm._ Kumo thought before she caught herself and jumped back, her face fire engine red with embarrassment.

"I'm s-sorry Shino." She stuttered.

"Why did you stutter and turn red?" he asked, perfectly composed as always.

"Because that was embarrassing. I tripped and crashed into you, and…sort of…kissed you." Her voice trailed off as she turned even redder in the face.

"It was not because you find me revolting?" Shino clarified.

"No! I would never think of you as revolting!" Kumo exclaimed, then realized how vehement she had been. She just wanted the ground to swallow her whole at the moment. _Why can't I just disappear right now?_

"If you do not find me revolting, then, do you find me appealing?"

Kumo gulped and panicked. _What do I say?_

Shino leaned forwards and gently placed his lips on hers. She froze for a moment, then began to hesitantly kiss him back. He broke the kiss after just a few seconds, and looked at her. At least, she thought he was looking at her. He was wearing his shades like always. "You would not have kissed me back if you did not have feelings for me." He asserted calmly.

_Uh. _Kumo was having difficulty forming a coherent thought. Shino was behaving very strangely. _Did he kiss me just to figure out if I liked him? Is that why he pulled back after a few seconds?_

"Will you join me to eat tomorrow night?"

"Uh, like a date?" _Is Shino really asking me on a date? The words Shino and date shouldn't even appear in the same sentence. _

"Yes."

"Uh, yeah." Kumo desperately restrained the urge to pinch herself to figure out if this was a dream. It had to be, right? That was the only logical explanation.

"I will pick you up at seven." With that, he turned and left.

_What the hell just happened?_

* * *

A/n: Oh, Shino. He just has no clue how to be romantic.


	21. preparations

Disclaimer: I do not own Nartuo, Masashi Kishimoto does.

* * *

In the shadows, Sakura wanted to pump her fist in the air in triumph. Operation Get Shino and Kumo Together was going well. Shino had the world's most unromantic way of asking her out, but he did so. The next step: She would work on Kumo, and sic Kiba on his teammate. She headed for the Inuzuka compound.

Knock. Knock. "What is it Sakura?" Kiba asked, puzzled.

"I need your help, or rather, Shino does."

"Why does Shino need help?" Kiba grinned. "Besides the obvious. He needs to learn to loosen up."

"That's exactly it. He asked a girl out."

Kiba choked, eyes wide in shock. "_SHINO?_"

Sakura thumped him on the back until he could breathe again. "Yeah, albeit in the most unromantic way possible. But he'll screw it up without our help."

Kiba gestured for the pink haired girl to come in. "Yeah, he's going to need a _lot_ of help."

With that, the two began their plotting.

* * *

Sakura practically pounced on the unsuspecting girl. "I heard you have a date tomorrow."

"Of course you know. You're the one who knocked me into him." Kumo retorted.

"Yes, but now you have a date with the guy you like, so we're even. Speaking of your date, what are you going to wear?"

"Wear?"

"You weren't planning on going naked, were you?"

"No!"

"Well, then what are you going to wear?"

"Uh, clothes."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "What kind?"

"Uh…."

"Come on. Hinata and I are going to help you." With that, she hauled the other girl in the direction of the Hyuuga compound.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kiba hunted down Shino. "I heard you have a hot date tomorrow." Kiba grinned.

"…"

"You know, you'll screw it up with her if you act as robotic as you normally do."

His teammate still didn't reply.

Kiba decided to switch tactics. Direct questions were harder to avoid. "What are you going to wear?"

"Clothes."

"Where are you taking her?"

"To dinner."

"Where?"

"At a restaurant." Kiba was getting frustrated.

"Which one?"

"I don't know."

Finally, something he could work with. "How about Ming's Garden? It is nice, but not too pricey." Kiba suggested.

"Hmm."

"Now back to what you are going to wear. What _sort_ of clothes are you planning to wear?"

"I have not decided yet."

"You might want to try something without a hood, and maybe ditch the shades."

"She does find them to be creepy."

"They are." Kiba agreed. "So ditch them for the date."

"Possibly." Kiba sighed. Preparing Shino for a date was a task beyond any mere mortal, he decided.

* * *

At a nearby clothing store the girls were having an argument. Kumo absolutely refused to wear a dress. Or a skirt. They had been arguing for ten minutes, and Kumo could tell that she had just about won from the expressions on their faces. "No." she repeated.

Sakura sighed. "Then I guess we just have to find a very feminine pair of pants and a blouse." She conceded. "Because you will absolutely not be wearing _that_ on your date."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"You dress like a boy."

"These clothes are comfortable, and work well for training."

"Well on a date, you're trying to impress the guy, so no ninja pants or vests."

"But…"

"No." This time it was Kumo's turn to give in while Hinata giggled.

They had been looking at clothes for hours with little success, and Kumo was getting fed up. For a little while she had tried amusing herself with tiny partial transformations, but Sakura had berated her, scolding that some civilian was going to notice her eyes changing color, throw a fit, and get them kicked out of the store. Kumo thought that would be a blessing in disguise, but simply sighed and stared off over her friend's head. _What is that behind her?_ Kumo ducked around her friend who was still talking. She drew out a hanger and looked at the shirt hanging on it. She hadn't liked anything that her friends had tried, but she might consider wearing this one. The material was silky and a burnt orange color with a spider web pattern twisting around the hem, collar and sleeves in gold thread. A spider's web seemed fitting, considering the name she had chosen for herself. She suddenly realized that Sakura had stopped talking and was looking at her and the shirt. "Hinata." She called softly.

"Ooh. I like it." The shy girl agreed.

"Try it on." Sakura encouraged.

Kumo needed little encouragement. She slipped into the shirt and almost sighed at the feel. It was so soft and smooth. Then she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and stopped. The v neck wasn't deep, it was pretty modest compared to what she had seen many girls wearing on dates, and it wasn't skin tight, but it lightly skimmed the curves that she had done a pretty good job of hiding so far, and she felt vulnerable. _I've never worn anything like this before. I've never had clothes for anything but training._ Hesitantly, she crept out of the dressing room towards the voices of her impatient friends.

Sakura clapped her hands at the sight. "You look amazing!"

"I-it does look good on you, Kumo-kun."

Kumo just looked at her bare feet. "I, I've just never worn anything like this before."

"Well you look great, and if Shino has even one hormone, he'll notice."

"You think he would notice me like that?"

"I'm sure he will." Sakura quickly assured her. _He'd better not break her heart!_ Inner Sakura yelled. _I'll beat him to a pulp if he does!_ "Now we just have to find you some dress pants, shoes and jewelry. Then we can do your hair and makeup and you'll be ready for your date."

"All that?"

"Yep. So get moving."

* * *

Back at the Aburame compound Shino was hiding in the garden when his father discovered him. "What are you doing here?"

"Avoiding fan girls." _And Kiba_. He added silently.

Shibi raised an eyebrow a hair. "Why are they particularly insistent today?"

A direct question from his father he couldn't just avoid. "I invited Kumo to eat with me, and it appears that they found out."

"A date?" Shibi's eyebrow rose slightly again.

"You could call it that."

Shino was holding his breath, expecting another date lecture like the one he had just escaped from Kiba. But to his relief, his father merely put a hand on his shoulder and said quietly. "Don't screw it up."


	22. date night

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

* * *

Shino knocked at the door to Kumo's apartment which hesitantly opened to reveal a rather embarrassed looking girl. _That shirt looks good on her. It is not overtly geared towards showing off her body, but it does look appealing in a more modest way than the clothes some other girls wear._ "That shirt looks appealing on you." He said aloud for her benefit. One thing Kiba had been quite insistent on was that he was supposed to pay his date compliments.

His date turned red and looked at the floor. "Thank you." She told said floor. "You look good too." Shino did look good. He had dressed simply in black pants and a dark green shirt, but his face was uncovered, including his eyes.

"Why will you not look at me?" Shino asked, gently lifting her chin with his fingertips. She gasped softly at his touch. "Did you change your mind about accepting me?"

"No! It's not that, it's just…I've never been on a date before."

"I will not hurt you. You have my promise on that."

"I know you would never hurt me, I'm just scared. I know it's irrational."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "We don't have to go if you don't want to."

She took a deep breath. "I still want to." She kept a close hold on his hand as they left the apartment. Normally, Shino would have felt uncomfortable to have someone so close to him, but he didn't mind Kumo being close. It seemed to have calmed her down a little.

Her nerves came back in full force though when they entered the restaurant. It was a Friday night, and the place was packed. Kumo shrank back against Shino, overwhelmed by the sheer number of people.

Shino turned and left, gently leading his date. "I apologize. I failed to consider how likely the restaurant was to be busy though I knew that you are uncomfortable with large crowds."

"It's not your fault, Shino."

"Perhaps we could get something to eat from one of the outdoor stands and eat it in the park."

Kumo smiled up at him in agreement. Grateful that he accepted her, petrifying fear of crowds and all. He wasn't someone that was normally comfortable with other people touching him, but he was allowing her to keep her death grip on his hand.

They lay on their backs on the grass in the park, eating dango from a stick and watching the stars come out. Shino was happy with the way the date had turned out. He had asked Kumo out for dinner, not because he was particularly fond of crowded, noisy restaurants, but because it was expected for a first date. He was much more comfortable how they were: silent, though it was a comfortable silence. He marveled at the way that she didn't seem to care, or even really notice the small pores his insects came and went from in his skin. Without his high-collared shirt, the ones in his cheeks were visible, but she didn't recoil in fear or disgust. She was even lying next to him, her head pillowed on his arm, seemingly content. Shino was still a little surprised at how she treated him, though he thought he should have gotten used to it by now. She didn't treat him like he was disgusting. She wasn't revolted and didn't think his bugs were creepy. She accepted them as an important part of his ninja life and was not afraid of touching someone who housed insects in their body. Perhaps he was still surprised because no one else had treated him that way. He had grown up accepting that people outside of the Aburame clan would never be completely accepting of the insects that made him their home. He had learned like all the others of his family to avoid physical contact with others, knowing that this would make them uncomfortable, just like he had learned to wear high-collared shirts to hide his insect pores and shades to hide his mismatched eyes. But Kumo had accepted him completely, insects, pores, eyes and all.

Kumo was thinking of her date as well. Shino had accepted her, had never given her a reason to doubt her trust. He had acknowledged her worth, had looked after her when she was undergoing treatment to heal her chakra pathways. He had come to Suna to find her when she had run away in shame. He had looked after her, encouraged her when she felt like giving up. He didn't push her too far, just enough. He was alright with changing their plans when she panicked at the sight of so many people. He didn't try to make her talk about things that she wasn't ready to share yet. He was willing to let the comfortable silence stay and deepen as she lay her head on his arm and watched the stars come out. She had been scared at first, she had never been on a date and had feared that he would push her when she wasn't ready, but now she realized that he would never do that. His promise echoed in her mind. "I will not hurt you." She could trust him. She sighed happily.

"Thank you Shino."

He did not question what she was thanking him for, simply brushed his lips gently against her cheek and let the silence continue, trusting the kiss to convey his gratitude to her as well.

And the silence continued comfortably as they soaked in the feelings of being accepted and loved. _I could get used to this._ They thought.

* * *

A/N: This is the end: I'm out of ideas for this story and I have finals this week. I hope you all like it. If you did, please review and tell me so. If you didn't, please review and tell me what I'm doing wrong.


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